For a few hours on Thursday night, Rohnert Park was the most glamorous place in the Bay Area. 

Graton Resort & Casino (opens in new tab), Sonoma County’s 13-year-old gaming destination, hosted a red-carpet celebration to commemorate a billion-dollar expansion that opened Monday. Celebrities, influencers, local luminaries, and a swarm of media — including this reporter — turned out for an evening that gave Las Vegas a run for its plentiful money. 

The red carpet proceeded at a blistering, Scientology speedrun pace. Hawaii-born chef Roy Ellamar of AYA (opens in new tab), the casino’s new restaurant, kicked off the night with emcee Mario Lopez. Ellamar said he was proudest of the lechon-style pork belly served over pickled vegetables with jeow sum, a garlicky fish sauce, for dipping. His team had planted 40 acres worth of vegetables a mile down the road, and the cucumbers, peas, and beans were just coming on. “It’s been my dream to have a farm and do the menu around what we grow,” he said. “But the rain — it’s just unpredictable.”

Barely 50 feet from the cameras, guests played slots, seemingly oblivious to the scrum in their midst. But on the red carpet, influencers were eager to chat. “I came all the way from San Francisco, ’cause I heard this is the place to be right now,” said NBA center turned professional foodie Festus Ezeli, who has popped up around the Bay all year, including at Guy Fieri’s Super Bowl Tailgate and hiking around the Presidio (opens in new tab). 

It was his first time at Graton, and he was there for the food. “I’m not a big gambler,” he said. “I have to be in control of every game I play.” Still, he allowed, if he were to place a bet, he’d put everything on 31 — “My jersey number!”  — and let it ride.

Ronnie 2K, who said he’s a big Texas Hold ’em player, wore a 2K Games jacket emblazoned with “Thriller”-era King of Pop iconography. “We had to show support for the Michael (opens in new tab) movie that came out recently,” he said. 

The sight of Lopez — whose career is thriving but who will always be known as A.C. Slater from “Saved by the Bell” — interviewing actress, model, and “Baywatch” icon Carmen Electra brought much cheer to this ’90s kid’s heart. His dimples still look as fresh as the day the gods sculpted them. But he was protected behind an impenetrable entourage force field and two velvet ropes. As Lopez chatted with K-Pop quintet Hey Brother, I struck a deal with one of his associates, an entrepreneur from Miami named Raj.

Raj asked me to help create content for his brand, a nonalcoholic gin called Veridoshé (opens in new tab). I said I would — if he introduced me to Lopez. “Sure!” he lied. I did as I was told, faux-shooting iPhone video of the bottle on the red carpet as if it were an inanimate, 8-inch-tall A-lister. (The brand currently has 340 followers on Instagram.)

Bigger names followed. Former San Francisco Mayor London Breed sized me up, whirled around, and shook her head: No interview. But Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who is running for state treasurer, wasn’t so shy. She reached into her sequined Chanel purse and slyly produced a fistful of chips — several hundred dollars’ worth, she confirmed. “I only play blackjack,” she said, adding that she enjoys pressing the flesh at the tables and getting to know the dealer and fellow players. Does that mean vying for a vote or two? “No,” she said. “I keep business separate from pleasure.”

Rapper E-40, scheduled to perform later that evening, blew through faster than anyone. I managed to shake hands with ex-Giant Hunter Pence, but before I could say a word, a publicist sprang out from behind a step-and-repeat. “No questions about gambling,” she said.

Electra, wearing a Shop by Raya dress, Chanel shoes, and a Chanel bracelet, didn’t want to talk gambling either. “I like the spa services,” she said. “And I love a good party for sure.” She too had never previously visited the property, so I asked her to name her favorite casino in the world. “Graton, of course!” she said.

The casino’s multiyear expansion scarcely seemed to matter. No one from the C-suite spoke, and no one trotted out oversize scissors to cut a ribbon. Aside from wondering what nibbles would be served, few people seemed interested in hearing about Graton’s amenities — not the fact that the new wing is entirely smoke-free or about the objectively mesmerizing water feature, programmed to “draw” Graton’s logo, playing card suits, and other designs in falling droplets. (Move over, Bellagio.)

Then it was time to be whisked up by elevator to AYA, a multi-roomed, 28,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor restaurant with two heated patios that overlook the parking lot, Highway 101, and the Sonoma hills beyond. Over at the temporary tattoo station, Christopher Kren-Mora, president of Sonoma County Pride, was the rare guest who seemed to know much about the casino and resort. Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, is gay, and even as much of corporate America turns its back on LGBTQ+ causes, the casino remains Sonoma Pride’s title sponsor — and the host of its pool parties. 

A violinist accompanied a DJ as guests sipped Sonoma Coast pinot noir and mobbed a raw bar built into an ice sculpture. Plates of salmon tartare went around, and the pork belly was just as Ellamar had described it — though the tastiest bite was a tiny bowl of congee topped with chile oil and peas from the farm. Sadly, there was no dim sum.

A sheepish Pence came back, dissatisfied with his earlier answers. He enlisted his wife, Alexis, an influencer in her own right (opens in new tab), to help him remember his favorite dim sum restaurants around San Francisco. But self-identified baseball moms kept grabbing him by the arm, brazenly leveraging their 12-year-old children’s alleged superfandom as a pretext for a selfie with a famous right-fielder.