While economic conditions have hardly been conducive to growth, Native American casino projects continue to debut in the West. A number of developments placed on hold are already under way again, although in scaled-down versions.
New large-scale casino resorts are opening in Arizona. Washington’s newest casino hotel debuted in December. Among new developments, two casino hotels will open this year in California, the country’s top Native American casino revenue producer.
According to Alan Meister, an economist with Irvine, Calif.-based Nathan Associates and author of Casino City’s annual Indian Gaming Report, Native American casinos overall have not been so badly affected by the economic downtown as other gaming destinations.
"Indian gaming did better in 2008 than other gaming sectors," he says. "Last year was a difficult year, and that has carried forward. But prospects for the future are still positive. In the big picture, there are lots of casinos being planned, and they will be ready to go ahead once the economy has turned around."
He explains that Native American casino gaming growth slowed down long before the recession set in and has been kept down as a result of restrictive government policies. He also says that California is a big gaming market that is not yet saturated.
California
It has now been a decade since the Golden State’s casino industry got started. In 1999, the first and the majority of compacts (agreements) between tribes and the state were signed. Gaming facilities then began morphing from bingo halls to casinos, many with impressive meetings and conventions facilities.
Posing competition for northern Nevada’s casinos, the Sacramento area continues to be a development hot spot.
Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln will complete a massive expansion this summer. It will feature a 400-room hotel, a 10,000-square-foot multipurpose entertainment center, a spa, retail shops and additional gaming space.
The United Auburn Indian Community put construction on hold in December 2008, scaled it down, then resumed last April. Original plans, reportedly costing around $1 billion, included a larger hotel and a performing arts center. The casino currently includes a 2,700-slot casino and a variety of restaurants.
Plans for the expansion of Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks are also back on track but have been scaled down. Last fall, plans for a project that would have included a second hotel were abandoned.
Then, in January, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation announced new plans for a 52,000-square-foot event center and casino and dining expansion with construction slated to begin mid-2011. Cache Creek has a 200-room hotel and 5,000 square feet of event space.
The Shingle Springs Band’s $530 million, Red Hawk Casino opened in January last year near Placerville, with 2,100 slots, 75 table games, six restaurants and four bars.
Also in the Sacramento area is the Jackson Rancheria in Jackson with a 1,500-slot casino, a hotel and more than 9,000 square feet of meeting space.
Win-River Casino in Redding, 150 miles north of Sacramento, has a 1,000-slot casino and 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Late last year, the Redding Rancheria put plans on hold for a $75 million casino expansion that included a 121-room hotel for which there had been a ground breaking.
Southern California’s Temecula area, with seven casinos within a 30-mile radius, is also seeing new development.
In December, the Pala Casino Spa & Resort at Pala completed the last component of an 18-month, $100 million expansion and renovation—upgrades to its 507 rooms. Last May, the Pala Band opened a new 15-table poker room, a new high limit area, expanded its buffet and added two new restaurants for a total of 10.
The AAA Four Diamond Pala offers 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 20,000-square-foot ballroom, four entertainment venues, a 10,000-square-foot spa and a 2,000-slot casino.
Another with a AAA Four Diamond rating is the 522-room, 3,600-slot Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, also with 40,000 square feet of meeting space. In November 2008, it opened the 18-hole Journey at Pechanga golf course.
The San Pasqual Band has the Valley View Casino at Valley Center. In December, it will open a 108-room boutique hotel and a 5,000-square-foot event center.
The area also has the Pauma Casino. Plans for a new $300 million casino and 500-room hotel reportedly ended last year when Foxwoods Development Co., a partner with the Pauma Band in the project, pulled out.
The Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage serves up a 344-room hotel with 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a 2,000-seat concert theater.
Opened at a cost of $300 million in April 2008, the hotel received AAA’s Four Diamond award for the first time for 2010. The $76 million concert theater opened in April last year.
The Agua Caliente Tribe also operates Palm Springs’ 288-room Spa Resort Casino, with 7,000 square feet of meeting space, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in January.
Also celebrating in January was the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, which opened a $52 million expansion of the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, which has a 5,000-square-foot ballroom.
The gaming floor was expanded to hold 2,000 slots and additional table games. The tribe earlier pulled back on an expansion that would have included a hotel and a second casino on its reservation near Joshua Tree National Park.
The area just east of San Diego has three casinos.
The Sycuan Band operates the 100-room Sycuan Resort with 54 holes of golf and group space for 200, and the 2,000-slot Sycuan Casino. The resort recently completed a $2.7 million guest room upgrade started last fall.
The 400-room Barona Resort & Casino has 18 holes of golf and 18,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space.
Viejas Casino offers a casino, six restaurants, event space for up to 200, and the Viejas Outlet Center with 255,000 square feet of shopping.
Arizona
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area has seen one new major casino resort open and it will get another this spring.
The new $200 million, 242-room Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino near Chandler held its grand opening last November. Components include a 1,000-slot casino with 71 table games, a 242-room hotel, more than 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a 1,400-seat showroom, a nightclub and a variety of dining options.
It is one of three casinos on lands owned by the Gila River Indian Community, which also operates the $60 million, 850-slot Lone Butte Casino, opened in 2008, and Vee Quiva Casino.
The reservation is also home to the 500-room Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Hotel, which has a spa and 36 holes of golf. Last June, the resort unveiled 25,884 square feet of additional meeting space, including a 15,000-square-foot ballroom, bringing its total meetings square footage to 70,000.
In Scottsdale, the $400 million Talking Stick Resort & Casino is expected to open in April adjacent to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Talking Stick Golf Course. It will replace an existing casino.
There will be a 497-room hotel, a 998-slot casino, a 13,000-square-foot spa, eight restaurants, 10 lounges and a 750-seat showroom. Its 50,000 square feet of meeting space will include a 25,000-square-foot ballroom and 21 rooms. Another 50,000 square feet will be available for outdoor events.
The area also has the Yavapai Nation’s AAA Four Diamond, 240-room Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Fountain Hills, which has 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and two golf courses.
New Mexico
New Mexico will get its first Hard Rock hotel during the second quarter of this year, the Pueblo of Isleta announced last October. Isleta Casino & Resort will become the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Albuquerque. The resort is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation prior to the rebranding.
In a $200 million expansion in July 2008, Isleta added a 200-room hotel and over 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Albuquerque area also boasts the 228-room Sandia Resort and Casino, which offers golf and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space. The nearby Santa Ana Pueblo, which has a casino, is also home to the 350-room Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, which has golf and 70,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space.
A joint project of the Pueblo of Pojoaque and Hilton Hotels, the 587-acre Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino opened in 2008 north of Santa Fe. It includes the 395-room Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa, a 1,200-slot casino, 66,000 square feet of meeting space, seven restaurants and 36 holes of golf.
The Ruidoso area has the AAA Four Diamond Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino. Owned by the Mescalero Apache, it offers 273 rooms, golf and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
Washington
The Evergreen State’s newest gaming resort is the Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights, which underwent a $200 million expansion and is minutes from downtown Spokane.
On Dec. 31, it unveiled a 250-room hotel and spa with over 22,000 square feet of meeting space. A year earlier, it opened a 50,000-square-foot casino expansion, increasing its gaming machines to 1,600.
At the Tulalip Resort Casino, 40 miles north of Seattle, the Tulalip Tribe opened a $130 million, 370-room hotel with 30,000 square feet of meeting space.
Also in 2008, the Snoqualmie Tribe opened the $375 million Casino Snoqualmie 30 miles west of the city, with an 11,000-square-foot ballroom, five restaurants, four lounges and a 1,700-slot casino.
Late that year, in a $44 million project, the Stillaguamish Tribe tripled the size of its Angel of the Winds Casino, 11 miles north of the Tulalip Resort. And north of Bellingham, the Lummi Nation unveiled a $8.6 million casino expansion at its 105-room Silver Reef Hotel, Casino & Spa, which has 6,300 square feet of function space.
Oregon
Last June, Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville, which has more than 22,000 square feet of meeting space, unveiled a 154-room expansion, bringing its guest room count to 298. The Cow Creek Band’s $40 million project also included a new and expanded lobby, a new business center, a new cafe, a spa, a 250-seat buffet and new meeting rooms.
In North Bend overlooking Coos Bay, Mill Casino Hotel opened a 92-room hotel tower in 2008, bringing its total rooms to 204. The Coquille Tribe’s resort has 14,000 square feet of meeting space, a 700-slot casino and five restaurants.
Florence has the Three Rivers Casino & Hotel, with 93 guest rooms, five restaurants, a 700-slot casino and an 8,500-square-foot events center.
Willamina, 65 miles southwest of Portland, has the 254-room, 2,500-slot Spirit Mountain Casino, which offers 4,800 square feet of meeting space and a 1,600-seat events center.
At the base of the Blue Mountains in Pendleton, the 100-room Wildhorse Resort & Casino offers golf and almost 18,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other meetings-friendly resort casinos include the oceanfront 308-room Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, with 35,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 139-room Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino in Warm Springs, with 15,000 square feet.
Other States
Idaho Boasts the 196-room Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, 30 minutes from Spokane, with 12,000 square feet of conference space and 18 holes of golf.
Last June, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe embarked on a $75 million expansion that will add 105 guest rooms, a fitness center, new restaurants, a 15,000-square foot spa and an outdoor amphitheater. It is on target for a June 2011 completion.
Colorado got its first Indian casino resort November 2008 with the unveiling of the Southern Ute Tribe’s Sky Ute Casino Resort & Conference Center.
Located in Ignacio near where four states meet, the property has a 146-room hotel and spa, meeting space that includes an 18,000-square-foot ballroom.
Montana has the Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson, which has a casino and banquet space for up to 300 people. Nevada’s three Native American casinos include the Fort Mojave Tribe’s 455-room Avi Resort and Casino in Laughlin, with a golf course and an 11,000-square-foot meetings facility.
—Tony Bartlett has been writing for travel industry publications for over 20 years.
