Full House? They’ve bet on it

Typically, Rebecca Miranda flies to New York City and Las Vegas to scratch her nightclubbing itch, but since December she’s stayed close to her home in Temecula. For much of its history, this Riverside County suburb has been more “Leave It to Beaver” than Sin City, but no more. The bedroom community became glamorous virtually overnight.

The reason is Silk nightclub at Pechanga Resort & Casino just south of Temecula.

The club put a little bit of Las Vegas high life in an area better known for its wineries, cowboy bars and booming housing market.

“It’s still the same place,” says Miranda, 44, a real estate broker. “There’s something to do here now.”

Silk is just one of the casino’s chips meant to attract a hip, moneyed crowd to its far-flung Pechanga reservation, historically well off the party circuit. (Other Indian casinos are competing by upping their entertainment ante. Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa close to Palm Springs has recently opened a gourmet restaurant called Belly and hired top pop music acts such as Destiny’s Child to perform.)

Pechanga spent $15 million to build a club intended to rival high-roller lounges in Las Vegas and Hollywood. On a busy night, more than 3,000 club-goers now visit.

They come from as far away as Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County. They’re attracted by the oasis of urban glitz amid the region’s country fields, suburban shopping centers and churches, says Josh Goldsmith, 30, a men’s suit salesman from San Diego.

“The club is a breakthrough for partying in this area,” Goldsmith says. “People need someplace to escape from their conservative jobs. This place is Vegas-style, and it’s cozy.”

The club’s first step toward glitz is to dazzle the crowd with a light show. An LED lighting system bathes the football-field-sized club with shades of blue, purple and red. The main bar’s Fountain Chandelier and the club’s 30 plasma screens provide more eye candy for club-goers dancing to DJ Zachary Loczi’s playlist of hip-hop hits, techno and house.

The high rollers hang out upstairs in the VIP section, where they can watch go-go dancers bump and grind, or relax in leather booths, where table service starts at $200.

Those not invited into the VIP section go outside to the Club Terrace for a breath of fresh air or a smoke. There they can watch flames from the terrace’s copper torches flicker in the dark country night.

With guys typically in dress shirts and girls wearing get-ups from fashion houses such as Donna Karan, this scene should breed nightclub snobbery. But according to club kids like Kirby Suitt, a 21-year-old film student from L.A., Silk welcomes all.

“In Los Angeles, they judge you on your looks,” Suitt said. “If you’re not hot, you’re out. Unless you’re a big shot. Here no one knows who the big shots are.”

Vin Diesel reportedly partied at Silk. But the majority of the crowd comes from the surrounding area of Temecula and Murrieta, including sports stars such as championship off-road racers Cyle Chislock and Mike Cafro. The notion that nightclubbing would appeal to the locals was something of a surprise, because the club scene wasn’t in the casino’s game plan when it opened in 1995.

When thousands came to gamble at the casino, they also wanted some entertainment to let them come down from their gambling highs. For years, the crowd made do with a piano player tickling the ivories at the casino’s Eagle’s Nest bar. In September 2004, the casino management experimented with a DJ playing at the bar, and practically overnight hundreds of people lined up at the Eagle’s Nest to dance.

Club owners are experimenting with putting on concerts by musicians such as Hootie & the Blowfish, said Michael Platt, director of the casino’s food and beverage division. “We think we can be everything to everyone,” he says.

After hours, the casino action still beckons. When the club closes at 2 a.m., Lisa Rush, 36, a loan officer from Murrieta, sticks around the casino to eat, gamble and sober up. “The party never stops for me. Until I run out of money.”

*

Andrew Asch can be reached at weekend@latimes.com.

*

Silk

What: Silk at Pechanga Casino

Where: 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula

When: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays

Price: $15 cover. No jeans, hats, athletic apparel or tennis shoes

Info: (951) 693-1819 or www.pechanga.com/silk