Raging River is a Good Gamble

By Antoinette May Herndon

I’m not much of a gambler, at least not in the traditional sense—slots, craps, blackjack.

Just regular life feels like a crap shoot to me. Try making it as a writer. How much dicier does it get?

Getting married is risky too, the great roulette wheel of life. No need to venture farther down metaphor lane. There are so many risks: babies, mortgages, jobs, etc. You know them as well as I.

This is by way of an explanation. Are Charles and I the only people within a 500 mile radius of Jackson Rancheria who haven’t been there?

I suspect so. But hearing the inspiring story of the founder, Margaret Dalton, made me curious. The daughter of a Native American, Margaret left Calaveras High to marry her school sweetheart, Earl Dalton, in 1956. She was 16 and had completed the ninth grade.

The couple moved onto the Miwuk Rancheria, had four children and also raised four of Margaret’s siblings. Their one rule was that they each graduate from high school. They all did.

In 1979 the tribe established a formal government and elected Margaret Tribal Chairperson, a position she held for 25 years. The next year, Earl died in a logging accident leaving her to go it alone.

A true gambler, Margaret opened a small bingo parlor in her house. It failed. She tried again. And again. Impressed by Margaret’s spirit, the Tribal Government agreed to back a fourth try.

Eighteen years later Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel employs more than 1,700 people, the largest employer in Amador County. Luck was a lady to Margaret but courage and determination really won the jackpot.

Now I have to fess up to my own story—a silly one. I’d never

been to a rancheria, but knowing that they are owned by Native Americans, my dreams ran wild.

Perhaps the pit bosses wore feathered headdresses. Maybe waitresses sashayed around in those cute little car wash skirts you see in Western movies. Would there be drums beating in the background, tomahawks to keep folks honest?

Yes, it’s true, I do have a lot of imagination. That’s why I write.

In reality, the Jackson Rancheria’s architecture resembles an upscale box store. There is a huge—I mean huge—multi-level parking lot. We needed a Kit Carson to guide us to the casino entrance.

Once inside we moved past the slots and up the escalator to the Raging River. To the left was a rousing game of bingo, but we found a section of the restaurant out of earshot.

The dining room is almost as big as the parking garage but broken up by many curving booths placed at angles. There are also a number of shoulder high rock walls. Presumably they’re meant to lend a western feel to the room.

The reality is more maze than a desert. The dining room is immense and everything looks alike. When I daringly set out for the restroom, Charles thought he’d have to send out smoke signals to get me back.

The wait staff at Raging River is extremely pleasant. Their main job—since this is a buffet restaurant—is to bring non alcoholic drinks. Remember the old firewater thing, so forget wine or martinis.

The salad bar is more than ample, beautiful, crisp greens with every possible enhancement and six varieties of dressing.

The main buffet bar is “international.” You can find Mexican, Italian and Chinese food there as well as American standbys like roast beef

and chicken.

Charles and I each opted for the roast beef. He likes his well done and was very happy with his selection. Unfortunately, I had a communication problem with the meat slicer. “Rare, rare, RARE!” literally didn’t cut it.

I enjoyed the very fresh and tender asparagus and a baked potato with all the trimmings. If I’d been a pushy pale face, I might have tried again with the meat, gotten a slice I liked better. It would have been quite okay to go back. Raging River is an all you can eat place.

But I didn’t want the hassle. What if I couldn’t find my way back to the table! I longed for was a doggie bag—that uneaten beef would not have gone to waste—with Chloe around. Unfortunately, they’re not in the cards at the casino. Quite reasonably, given the limitless table, there’s no take home.

I contented myself with a sinfully rich dessert, a delicious slice of cheese cake. Skinny Charles didn’t have to justify anything. He opted for a banana cream pie.

Now you’re probably wondering about prices. On Sunday through Thursday evenings, the buffet is $15.30 a person including beverage. And there’s no tax.

No tax. That’s right. The Rancheria’s another world—or at least another nation.

VITALS: Raging River is in the Jackson Rancheria. 12222 New York Ranch Road, Jackson. 822-WINN. Open daily for breakfast from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Lunch buffet, Monday through Friday is served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Brunch buffet on Saturday and Sunday, is from11 a.m. to 3: 30 p.m. Dinner buffet, Sunday through Thursday, is from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday is served from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

amherndon@sierralodestar.com