Dehesa

The Sycuan Indian Reservation, for three years a host to high-stakes bingo games, will open a poker casino Friday, becoming the second Indian reservation in the county to offer poker, it was announced Wednesday.

The card room will not feature several controversial poker games that have been contested in courts elsewhere in California, but will offer only high draw and lo-ball poker, said general manager Mark Glocke.

He said the card room will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, after it opens at noon Friday. The room, in the tribal center complex at 5441 Dehesa Road, will have eight tables.

The casino will be managed by Glocke’s partnership, Royal Flush, and be independent of the Sycuan Indians’ bingo operation, which is managed by a different firm. Glocke said details of his financial agreement with the Indians will not be disclosed.

The Rincon Indians northeast of Escondido also operate a poker casino, although it is currently in management disarray after being raided in December for playing two kinds of poker that San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy alleges are banned by state law. The matter is pending in court.

“We’re going to be more conservative in terms of just playing those games that are proven to be legal in the state,” Glocke said.

Indian card rooms, unlike those operating in several cities around the county, may operate around the clock.