Tesuque Casino

On our way we passed Santa Fé with a few RV friendly casino's. We random picked Tesuque. It was a good choise.
Close to the city of Santa Fé, only 7 miles from SF plaza.
We could stay as long as we wanted.
They give no free plays anymore. Bummer.

May 2019 Update. A brand new facility was built much closer to the Santa Fe area. Renamed Tesuque Casino. This use to be the grounds of a flea market. The older Tesuque/ Camel Rock Casino is further up the road. This new one is right close to the SF Opera grounds. Naturally there was contention. So now even closer to Santa Fe proper. The exterior building looks fabulous. Wow if you like modern architecture. Inside it felt cramped and crowded. Inside the layout seemed strained. Table games seemed much too close to the slots. Players club sign up earned $10 credit. Free coffee and soda. Poker room? No signage. Not sure if one exists. Will ask next time. Expansion with a hotel is sure to come. So maybe all will breath better with some more elbow room. Smoke. Not too bad. Still some formaldehyde smell from the carpet. This won’t last long. Filters seem to be cranking well. Ok the RV kicker. I believe this to be their first RV summer season for this facility. If course they know the RV crowd from the old site. There is no welcome sign. However there is not a no overnight parking sign either. It may be a don’t ask don’t tell scenario for now. I did not ask the front desk nor security. We went to the fathest guest lot. There was already a long Class A with tow car from Florida parked. They were taking up 9 slots in all. We backed up to the fence in our slot and settled in for a while. Class A went for groceries so we know they were in for the night. A revamped Albertsons grocery store is close by. We started our walk towards the casino for a looksee and a golf cart shuttle picked us up for a ride to the door. We returned to the RV. We were close to a lamp post with a security camera on it so yeah I guess we were noted upon. A very quiet night. Mostly level. Light traffic buzz from highway 285. Safe. No knock from security. No windshield note. We woke to a beautiful sunrise. Class A was still there. If approached by security Class A was going to be my excuse. Ask them to leave first. They are three times my size. My one slot to there nine, etc. Yadda yadda. The parking lot was empty by the morning. Taking in the morning sun I had a coffee cup in hand and a Tesuque Police cruiser swung by with a morning nod. Nothing more. I’ll risk some one or two nighters until told otherwise. Far cheaper than a SF hotel. Free vs $$$$. Will be interesting to see how this place will unfold. The old casino grounds remain abandoned and roped off. Maybe turn that into a dedicated RV park/station. Laundry! The Valero gas station there may still allow overnight parking in their dirt lot.

This is a large dirt parking lot east of the Vallero gas station run by the casino. It is FREE. There are large ruts from rain. Walk the lot to see the best access to the spot you want. There are no services but there is an RV park (Road Runner) up the road with water and dump for $10. It is very uneven in most spots but it is FREE! We stayed 4 nights in a 37 ft. 5th wheel and felt safe. The casino is small but they have good deals for signing up for their club.

-report from Gerard, May 21, 2008

I stayed overnight in the parking lot. The signage to RV/truck parking is now confusing as they have barricaded the original dirt RV/truck parking area. I asked a casino security man and he said they are constructing a gas station in that area, and he told me to just park my rig in one of the far/lower (parking lot has a mild slope) corners and I'd be just fine.

I was there primarily for a Joan Jett concert. Seems this small casino frequently attracts big names for concerts. I paid $30 for the concert ticket..a bargain. The midweek concert brought a small turnout (maybe 500 people) and I was in the second row from stage! What a treat!!

- report from Karen B., May, 2008

Not much to add to Sean's report except that we stayed in the paved lot next to the dirt one as the casino wasn't busy the night we were there and the lot was empty.