Although Native American gaming resorts in the West have been maneuvering through uncertain times, there is still much new development under way.
In Arizona, Tucson is getting a second casino resort this year, while the metro Phoenix area is seeing further expansion after two major resort projects opened a little over a year ago.
Expansion projects under way in Oregon and Idaho will be completed this year. New Mexico has its first Hard Rock-branded casino resort. Seattle opened two major properties in 2008.
In 2009, the ailing economy continued to take its toll, with nationwide gaming revenue at Native American facilities falling 1 percent from 2008 to $26.4 billion, marking the first year of decline in the segment’s history, according to Casino City’s annual Indian Gaming Report.
"Nonetheless, the decline was less severe than that of most other segments of the gaming industry and other sectors of the U.S. economy," says Alan Meister, the report’s author and an economist with Irvine, Calif.-based Nathan Associates, who adds that there has been a pattern of slower growth for a number of years.
All Native American casino states in the West were down in gaming revenues except for Washington, which was up 11.1 percent in 2009. Revenues in California, by far the largest tribal gaming state, were down 5.3 percent, while Arizona and Oregon saw declines of 9.7 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.
California
The Sacramento region has been a development hot spot. Located 30 miles northeast of the city, Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln opened major facilities last June.
The expansion included a 297-room hotel, a 10,0000-square-foot banquet and entertainment facility, meeting rooms and a spa. The United Auburn Indian Community’s resort now offers over 3,000 slots and 14 restaurants and bars, including a 500-seat buffet.
"With the opening of our incredible luxury hotel, the new 160-seat poker room and our amazing spa, 2010 was definitely a great year for us," says C.J. Graham, general manager of Thunder Valley Casino Resort.
In Brooks, 40 miles west of Sacramento, plans for the expansion of Cache Creek Casino Resort were reportedly put on hold last fall. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation had planned to break ground this year on a 52,000-square-foot event center as well as a casino and dining expansion. Cache Creek currently has a 200-room hotel, 5,000 square feet of event space and golf.
In Oroville, 80 miles north of Sacramento, Feather Falls Casino and Lodge has meeting space that includes a 175-seat ballroom. In an $8 million expansion project, its showroom and other areas became the two-level Feather Falls Brewing Co. in a December unveiling. The expansion features the microbrewery, a 250-seat restaurant, a 21-seat poker bar, a 40-seat outdoor dining area and an entertainment venue.
"The brewery is doing fantastic and has attracted groups," says Ed Gilbert, director of marketing for Feather Falls. "We recently held the annual chamber of commerce award banquet in the brewery and it sold out," he says.
Southern California’s Temecula area has seven casinos within a 40-mile radius.
Pala Casino Spa & Resort at Pala completed the renovation of its 507 rooms in December 2009, the last phase of an 18-month, $100 million expansion that included a 15-table poker room, a high-limit area, an expanded buffet and two new restaurants.
The Pala Band’s AAA Four Diamond resort provides 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.
Two other nearby resorts with AAA Four Diamond ratings are the 522-room Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, which has 53,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 662-room Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort, which has 13,500 square feet of meeting space in Valley Center.
Valley Center also boasts the Valley View Casino & Hotel, which opened its 108-room boutique hotel last November. The San Pasqual Band property has a 2,000-slot casino and seven restaurants.
Palm Springs is another area with plenty of gaming action.
Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage has a 344-room hotel with 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a 2,000-seat concert theater. The Agua Caliente Tribe also operates Palm Springs’ 288-room Spa Resort Casino, which has 7,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians unveiled a $52 million expansion of its Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella last year, now offering 2,000 slots. The casino includes a 5,000-square-foot ballroom.
Cabazon, west of Palm Springs, has the AAA Four-Diamond, 310-room Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, which features a 12,000-square-foot ballroom, while nearby Indio has the 350-room Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, which can handle groups of up to 1,000.
Three casinos east of San Diego are the 100-room Sycuan Resort, which accommodates groups up to 200 and completed a $2.7 million guest room upgrade early last year; the 400-room Barona Resort & Casino, which has golf and 18,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space; and Viejas Casino, which offers a casino, six restaurants, event space for up to 200 and an outlet center.
"Over the past year, Barona’s business increased despite an economy that had a negative impact on the rest of the gaming industry," says Rock Salinas, general manager of Barona. "We have as many casino players today as we had at the peak of the economy."
Arizona
In Tucson, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is on target to hold the grand opening of its $120 million Casino Del Sol Hotel & Conference Center Nov. 11. The property will be the second major casino in Southern Arizona.
Under construction adjacent to Casino Del Sol, also owned by the tribe, it will feature 215 guest rooms; a conference center offering 65,000 square feet of function space and a 14,000-square-foot ballroom; five dining outlets and a spa.
The Tohono O’odham Nation owns and operates the Desert Diamond Casino & Hotel near Tucson International Airport. It includes a 150-room hotel and more than 9,900 square feet of meeting space.
Expected to debut in July is a $20 million, 152-room hotel expansion at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel and Casino 30 minutes south of Phoenix in Maricopa. Owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community, the property has an existing 148-room hotel, a 1,000-slot casino, four restaurants and an entertainment venue.
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area got another casino resort last year with the grand opening of the $400 million Talking Stick Resort & Casino in Scottsdale. Receiving the AAA Four Diamond rating for the first time for 2011, it replaces the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s smaller Casino Arizona and is adjacent to the Talking Stick Golf Course.
The new resort serves up a 497-room hotel and a 900-slot casino. It also has 50,000 square feet indoor meeting space that includes a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, 50,000 square feet of outdoor event space, a 13,000-square-foot spa, eight restaurants, 10 lounges and a 640-seat showroom.
Talking Stick followed the opening of the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino near Chandler in November 2009. The Gila River Indian Community’s $200 million Wild Horse features 242 guest rooms, a 1,000-slot casino with 71 table games, more than 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a 1,400-seat showroom, a nightclub and a variety of dining options.
The tribe also owns the nearby 500-room Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Hotel with 70,000 square feet of meeting space and 36 holes of golf. There is shuttle service between the two properties.
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area also has the Yavapai Nation’s AAA Four Diamond, 246-room Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Fountain Hills. It has 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and two golf courses.
New Mexico
Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque was rebranded the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Albuquerque last June. The property underwent a multimillion-dollar improvement plan, which included new decor and a new cantina-style restaurant and club.
Two years earlier it added a 200-room hotel and 30,000 square feet of convention space. Hard Rock also has a 100,000-square-foot casino, a 2,500-seat multipurpose theater and 27 holes of golf.
Also in the Albuquerque area are the 228-room Sandia Resort and Casino, which has golf and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space, and the 350-room Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, which has golf and 70,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space.
North of Santa Fe, the 587-acre Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino opened in 2008. Owned by the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the resort 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 Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino, which is owned by the Mescalero Apache and provides 273 rooms, golf and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
Washington
The Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Resort & Casino, which opened in late 2009 in Airway Heights near downtown Spokane, was awarded the AAA Four Diamond rating for 2011. In a $200 million expansion, Washington’s newest gaming resort debuted a 250-room hotel and over 22,000 square feet of meeting space.
At its 98-room Little Creek Casino Resort near Olympia, the Squaxin Island Tribe is building an 18-hole championship golf course slated to open this spring. The property has a 900-slot casino, a hotel and more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 22,500-square-foot events center.
Two major projects opened in the Seattle area in 2008: the Tulalip Resort Casino’s 370-room hotel addition, which offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space; and the $375 million Casino Snoqualmie, which has an 11,000-square-foot ballroom, five restaurants, four lounges and a 1,700-slot casino.
Other meetings-ready Washington casinos include the 85-room Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort Hotel & Spa on Puget Sound; the 103-room Skagit Valley Casino Resort in Bow; and the 150-room beachfront Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Ocean Shores.
Oregon
In Pendleton, the 100-room Wildhorse Resort & Casino, which offers 18,000 square feet of meeting space, has a 184,000-square-foot expansion under way. Expected to open in September, it will include a 10-story hotel tower with 202 additional rooms, an expanded casino, a four-theater Cineplex, additional retail space and an expanded arcade and game room
Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville recently added 154 guest rooms, bringing the total to 298. The Cow Creek Band’s $40 million project also included an expanded lobby, a business center, cafe, spa, 250-seat buffet and new meeting rooms, bringing total function space to 22,000 square feet.
Overlooking Coos Bay in North Bend, 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.
Along the coast, other meetings properties include the 93-room Three Rivers Casino & Hotel in Florence, with an 8,500-square-foot events center; and the 308-room Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, with 31,000 square feet of meeting space.
Among others in the state are the 254-room Spirit Mountain Casino in Willamina, with meeting space and a 1,600-seat events center; and the 139-room Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino in Warm Springs, with 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other States
In Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is expected to unveil a $75 million expansion May 1 at its 202-room Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, 30 minutes from Spokane.
Built to LEED standards, the project will add 98 guest rooms, a fitness center, new restaurants, a 15,000-square-foot spa and an outdoor amphitheater. The resort currently has 12,000 square feet of conference space and 18 holes of golf.
"We were determined to create something not only special, but unique, raising the level of our amenities and bridging the demographics of our clientele," says Dave LaSarte-Meeks, CEO of the resort. "We’ve taken great care to create not just a Native American identity, but a Coeur d’Alene Tribe identity, running throughout what we’ve done and how we’ve done it."
Colorado got its first Native American casino resort in November 2008 with the unveiling of the Southern Ute Tribe’s Sky Ute Casino Resort & Conference Center near Ignacio. The property has a 146-room hotel and almost 19,000 square feet of meeting space.
Nevada’s three Native American casinos include the Fort Mojave Tribe’s 455-room Avi Resort and Casino in Laughlin, which has a golf course and an 11,000-square-foot meetings facility.
Montana has the Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson, which has a casino and banquet space for up to 300 people.
Tony Bartlett has been writing for travel industry publications for over 20 years.
