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California: Golden West Casino puts construction project north of Bakersfield on hold

Wednesday, September 16, 2026 12:17 PM
Image aggregated from KGET.
  • Robert Price, KGET

Golden West Casino’s move from South Union Avenue, south of the city, to Merle Haggard Drive, north of the city, has been postponed indefinitely.

Golden West Casino Owner Franklyn Elfend had planned to move the cardroom to a near-31,000-square-foot building to be constructed near Meadow Field Airport in November 2025, but legal and competitive concerns led him to decide on the delay.

Primarily, it’s the uncertainty over Senate Bill 549 and subsequent legal action by the state Department of Justice, either of which would have restricted cardrooms’ ability to offer certain games, including blackjack. The cardroom industry has since won two legal victories that paused those developments for now.