The Stones Group Corp. made up of Rodney Stone, Ryan Stone, Masis Kevorkian and Kermit Schultz are the newest players in town.
The four men became the new owners of Seven Mile Casino after the Chula Vista City Council approved a transfer of ownership on April 18.
For more than 70 years the Souza family owned the only two gambling licenses in Chula Vista. The Souza’s operated the Village Card Room on Broadway. In 2014, Harvey Souza moved the card room to its current location at 285 Bay Blvd., a much larger location equipped with a full restaurant and bar.
Although the Bay Boulevard location was a dramatic upgrade from its previous run-down site, the new owners said they plan to make the place more elegant, fun and community oriented.
“This place is special,” Ryan Stone said. “Because it is one of the only places in the world where you can play cards, have dinner and see the bay, see the ocean, see the sunset, it’s a spectacular location.”
The new ownership group said they have not yet decided whether or not they will keep the Seven Mile Casino name.
The Stones are no strangers to the gaming industry. For a better part of four years they have owned the Stones Gambling Hall in Citrus Heights, near Sacramento.
The La Jolla-based Stones Corp. spent most of their careers in the Real Estate Development, building large, multi-family, market-rate apartment- housing throughout San Diego County.
They said they plan to use their expertise in real estate development to turn Seven Mile Casino a World Class destination, not just for card players but for the entire South Bay community.
“It’s not just about gaming, it’s about trying to bring the community in this place,” Ryan Stone said.
Ryan Stone said the plan is to have the gaming hall become a place to host community meetings, a place where families can come and eat for dinner without having to gamble and a place where their employees come on their day off with their family to eat or play.
Ryan Stone said it is a similar model based used from the Stones Gambling Hall where there is a community room that has been used as an art space and held meetings for Rotarians and the police department.
Three years ago a deal to partner with Souza fell through. But now, with Souza indicted in an illegal gambling and money laundering scheme, the opportunity to buy Seven Mile Casino presented itself.
Kevorkian declined to say how much the group paid to buy the casino, but said, “Harvey is set for the rest of his life.”
The California Gaming Commission unanimously approved a temporary state gambling license to the Stones Corp. and approved the ownership transfer of Seven Mile to the Stones Group Corp.
“The most important part of this business is compliance with the state regulators,” Ryan Stone said. “That’s paramount. We are striving to be as perfect as we can with compliance and transparency because that’s the cornerstone of staying in business.”
Kevorkian said there are only 70 state licenses left in California compared to the 250 licenses 20 years ago. He said the card room industry is old-school, however, he said, they want to elevate it and bring a new school mentality.
Ryan Stone said there will be lots of changes made to the card room, but one thing that will remain constant is giving back to the community, something that Souza was well known for.
Stone said once they get to know the community they would not mind sponsoring events or donating to local causes.
“We have the privilege of owning this gambling license, we want to make sure we make the city proud,” Ryan Stone said. “We really mean that.”
