Because of the marketing campaigns, he said, the stereotype of Asian gamblers "becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it's not just Indian gaming, It's Tahoe, Reno, Las Vegas."

The outsides of Thunder Valley's shuttles often display Asian language characters, along with a giant likeness of the face of Kitty Chui, the casino's executive director of Asian marketing.

Cache Creek offers Asian entertainers monthly – Filipino Divas Kuh Ledema and Vina Morales on Nov. 7-8 – and has a live dragon fish, or arowana, considered lucky in Asian cultures, said communications director Cean Burgeson.

"We do have a mission statement to provide a superior casino experience to our diverse guests," a diversity Burgeson said simply reflects the region.

That view is shared by Thunder Valley CEO Scott Garawitz, who said his casino "is a demographic study of Northern California," which includes nearly 2 million Asian Americans – 16.3 percent of the population. There are 1.5 million Asians in the Bay Area alone, according to a 2007 U.S. Census report.

The high volume of Asian players has prompted an outcry from some Asian American advocates, who complain of too few programs to address their gambling problems.

For the past three years, the governor's Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs has made problem gambling a top priority. The commission created a task force to craft legislation addressing gambling addiction.

Community surveys and anecdotal evidence "indicate the expansion of gambling has disproportionately affected Asian and Pacific Islander communities," said task force member Diane Ujiiye in a letter to state Controller John Chiang last year.

Michael Liao, director of programs for the Nicos Chinese Health Coalition of San Francisco, said one of his board members remarked that "California's casinos are more culturally competent than our hospitals. You don't have to speak English to be a gambler."

Liao – whose organization's surveys in Chinatown indicate 70 percent of residents identify problem gambling as their No. 1 concern – said "those who are lower-income, monolingual immigrants are particularly vulnerable."

Gambling long has played a social role in Asian cultures, "but it goes beyond social," Liao said. "Immigrants work so hard, two to three jobs to make ends meet, and gambling is seen as a legitimate way to get rich fast."

Although casinos offer progressive slots with jackpots of $2 million and more, Thunder Valley's Kitty Chui said "we tell our guests 'we don't want you to lose all your money, we don't want to … never see you again.' If they gamble for fun it's good – it's not a bad thing until you go crazy."

One explanation for the high proportion of Asian gamblers at Indian casinos is "Asians are generally less concerned and sensitive about being known as gamblers," said Thunder Valley's Garawitz. "I've noticed Asians overestimating their play as a sort of a pride thing."

Not all Asian gamblers are so open, Chui added. "I'd have Korean and Japanese players that don't want to be identified as gamblers."

On the Thursday morning Thunder Valley shuttle last week, Kim Vo, owner of Ambrosia Nail and Spa, brought only $22 to gamble. "It's good fun!" said Vo, 46, who came from Vietnam. "I won $400 with 1 cent on a 1-cent slot machine. I once lost $500, so I play small. I have 10 people who work for me who love Thunder Valley more than me."

Also on board was Marilyn, a Filipina nursing student who brought along $20 to gamble but withheld her full name so her husband wouldn't find out. "He hates gambling and I love gambling," she said.

Marilyn studied a textbook on the ride out, preparing for her nursing exam.

On the 1:45 p.m. shuttle back to south Sacramento, all the passengers were Asian Americans, many of them Chinese from Vietnam. The driver was Vietnamese, too.

One regular, Tu Long, is a baccarat player who another passenger said "wins every day." Long joked about planning to gamble $10,000 the next day, but after the bus started he whispered, "everyone lost money. I'm going to the bank in Sacramento and then I'll come back tonight."

Call The Bee's Stephen Magagnini, (916) 321-1072. Bee staff writer Phillip Reese and researchers Sheila A. Kern and Pete Basofin contributed to this story.