Rival hockey team mascots from the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings put their differences aside and came together for the opening of a new dining and sports bar concept at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland.
The 909 opened to a crowd of eager casino goers on Thursday, Nov. 17, and were treated to a set from DJ Jojo and a performance from the L.A. Kings drumline.
Christopher Fava, vice president of food and beverage at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, said the name for the new concept kept locals in mind.
“We’re in 909 territory, so we wanted to create something for people to feel at home and connect it to the community,” he said.
The newly opened sports bar and food hall is located on casino’s second floor, taking over the space once occupied by The Pines and the Finish Line Bar. The 909 is the newest addition of the casino’s expansion, which began in 2018. Last year, the property hit a milestone with the opening of its 17-floor hotel tower.
The expansion also paved the way for more bars and the elevation of its dining experiences with The Serrano Vista Café and the reinvigorated version of The Pines, which relocated to the first floor. In April, the casino opened its new entertainment venue, the Yaamava’ Theater.
Here’s what you can expect from The 909.
The Atmosphere
The 909 measures more than 17,100-square-feet and includes multiple tables with seating for up to four people and 78 seats dedicated to bar-top gaming. The bar-top games allow visitors to gamble by playing a variety of electronic card games and other mini games. There are TVs on the interior and exterior fixtures above each bar, permitting patrons sitting to watch games comfortably.
There are more than 150 LED screens around the space, and at least one TV screen is located at each of the food outlets to ensure visitors are not missing any sports programming. It also includes a 50-foot wide by 12-feet tall feature screen that can play multiple events simultaneously.
The sports programming expected to run on the space’s TVs include college football, NBA, NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA, UFC, boxing, tennis, F1 racing, and horse racing. Major sporting events such as the World Cup, the Super Bowl and the U.S. Open will also be shown.
The Four Food Groups
Customers can choose from four different eateries: Get It Grill, Thai Chi 2, Pizza Mayhem and Just Barbeque (JBQ). They can make their selections on the kiosks between the bar and food outlets. The kiosk gives customers an estimated wait time before they order so they can choose a time frame based on their appetite. They can input their phone numbers in the kiosk after an order and receive a text message when the food is ready.
Get It Grill is an American-style restaurant that offers shareable appetizers such as a footlong hot dog, loaded fries and crispy wings. Some of its main dishes include a pastrami burger, Texas hot chicken sandwich and a Beyond Burger. Prices for main dishes, appetizers and desserts are $6-$17.
Thai Chi 2 is the second location of the Thai Chi restaurant, which is also offered on the casino’s third floor, but will offer different dishes on the weekends at The 909. The new location features some of the same fare, such as pepper steak with onion, Kung Pao chicken and shrimp with black bean sauce. It also serves milk tea with boba along with Ramune specialty sodas. Prices for the entrees and other sides range from $7- $19.
Pizza Mayhem goes beyond pizza, with pastas and even an Italian sub on its menu. The pasta selection includes penne alfredo, rigatoni Bolognese and Tortellini Alla Vodka. Pizza can be ordered by the slice or as a 14-inch pie to share and includes specialty styles such as the breakfast pizza. Prices for food and drink items run from $5-$19.
Just Barbeque (JBQ) was a previous restaurant the casino shelved, but decided to revive with this new food hall. Its entrees include smoked turkey breast, pulled pork and beef brisket. Some of the sides include coleslaw, baked beans and potato salad. Prices for food and drink items range from $5-$18.
The Brews
The 909 has two bars that offer a variety of IPAs, stouts, ales, ciders and seltzers from central California, Orange County and San Diego breweries. Some of the beers on tap are from Allagash, Brewery X and The Bruery which range from $10-$18. The bars also offer 12-16 ounce bottles and cans from other local breweries that cost $10-$18. Other imported and domestic beers such as Modelo, Corona, Bud Light and Budweiser are also available in bottles and cans.
The bars’ drink choices also include vintage specialties with a total of 21 selections of beers. It offers vertical drink tasting, which allows patrons to sample beer that is aged. The vintage selections range from $40-$100.
The 909
Where: Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, 777 San Manuel Boulevard, Highland
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
For more information: 909-425-4889 or yaamava.com.
