As they evolve, Native American casino resorts in the West continue to add exciting features to attract new markets, especially meetings and conventions.
The days of the new major projects coming on-line one after another appear to have gone, but there is still new development.
A San Diego area casino recently announced its first hotel project, while a November hotel opening will give Tucson, Ariz., its second casino resort. Construction is under way on a new casino resort near Flagstaff, Ariz., while a casino in Yakima, Wash., has a hotel under construction.
Casino additions have recently been completed in Phoenix, Pendleton, Ore., and Worley, Idaho.
California
According to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), tribal gaming revenues in its California region dropped 2.5 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 2010, following a 5 percent decline over the previous 12 months.
The Sacramento region got an additional annual outdoor summer concert series when the Cache Creek Casino Resort unveiled a new 3,000-seat outdoor amphitheater in May.
“Now the summer stage will allow us to bring in even bigger-name acts for our guests and we will be able to accommodate a larger viewing audience,” says Mike Leonard, the resort’s vice president of marketing.
Located 40 miles northwest of Sacramento in Brooks, and owned by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Cache Creek includes a 200-room hotel, 5,000 square feet of event space, a 2,300-slot casino, nine restaurants, a spa and 18 holes of golf.
In Lincoln, 30 miles northeast of Sacramento, the United Auburn Indian Community’s Thunder Valley Casino Resort debuted a 3,500-seat seasonal amphitheater with a concert series as part of a major expansion that was completed in summer 2010.
The project also included a 297-room hotel, an expanded casino with over 3,000 slots, a 10,000 square-foot banquet and entertainment facility, new restaurants and bars, a spa and new pool area. It achieved the AAA Four Diamond award for 2012.
Just 40 miles east of the city is the Shingle Springs Band’s $530 million Red Hawk Casino, which opened in early 2009 near Placerville. It has 2,100 slots, 75 table games and five restaurants and four bars.
Feather Falls Casino and Lodge in Oroville, 80 miles north Sacramento, completed an $8 million expansion last December, converting its showroom and other areas to the Feather Falls Brewing Co. The new space features a microbrewery, a 250-seat restaurant, a 21-seat poker bar, a 40-seat outdoor dining area and an entertainment venue. Meeting space includes a 175-seat ballroom.
Seven casinos are within a 40-mile radius of Temecula in Southern California.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the 507-room Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Pala serves up a 2,000-slot casino, 40,000 square feet of meeting space, a 10,000-square-foot spa and 10 restaurants.
In May, Pala opened its new Infinity showroom in space previously occupied by the Grand Cabaret. With seating for 900, the 10,000-square-foot room for concerts and live shows is a nightclub, a party venue and sports-experience venue.
According to Pala CEO Bill Bembenek, the facility will raise the entertainment bar in Southern California.
“The entertainment possibilities are infinite, Infinity is unlike any other entertainment venue in San Diego County,” he says.
In December 2009, the Pala Band’s resort completed the renovation of all guest rooms, the last phase of an 18-month $100 million expansion that included a new 15-table poker room, a new high-limit area, an expanded buffet and two new restaurants.
Two other AAA Four Diamond resorts in the area are the 522-room, 3,600-slot Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, with 53,000 square feet of meeting space and a championship golf course, and the 662-room Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort, with 13,500 square feet of meeting space in Valley Center.
Valley Center is also home to Valley View Casino & Hotel, which opened its 108-room boutique hotel late last year.
The Palm Springs area is another gaming hot spot.
In May, the Agua Caliente Casino, Resort, Spa in Rancho Mirage announced it had become the country’s first casino-resort to offer allergy-friendly guest rooms treated by New York-based Pure Solutions. All on the same floor, the rooms cost an additional $20.
Operated by the Agua Caliente Tribe, the resort has a 3-year-old, 344-room AAA Four Diamond hotel with 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a 2,000-seat concert theater.
The tribe also operates the 288-room Spa Resort Casino, with 7,000 square feet of meeting space in downtown Palm Springs. A $2.1 million renovation of its guest rooms, corridors and lobby is slated to be completed in late October.
In Coachella, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians last year unveiled a $52 million expansion of its Spotlight 29 Casino, now with 2,000 slots. Meeting facilities include a 5,000-square-foot ballroom.
West of Palm Springs, Cabazon is home to the AAA Four-Diamond, 310-room Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, which has a 12,000-square-foot ballroom.
Indio offers the 350-room Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, which has golf and can handle groups of up to 1,000.
East of San Diego are the 100-room Sycuan Resort, with golf, group space for 200 and a 2,000-slot casino; the 400-room Barona Resort & Casino with golf and 18,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space; and Viejas Casino with six restaurants, event space for up to 200 and an outlet center.
Viejas recently unveiled plans for an adjacent 150-room hotel. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the first quarter of 2012 with a grand opening expected in 2013’s first quarter.
“This hotel will be a great addition, not only for Viejas Casino guests but visitors to all of San Diego County,” says Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the San Diego CVB. “The hotel’s location, right along I-8, is especially convenient for visitors coming from Arizona and points east.”
Sycuan Resort, which completed a $2.7 million guest room upgrade early last year, this fall was completing a facelift of its gaming areas, including a new buffet and a new sports bar and grill.
Arizona/New Mexico
Tribal gaming revenues for the Arizona/New Mexico region were down 2.4 percent for the year ended June 2010 following a 6.3 percent slide the previous year, according to the NIGC.
In Tucson, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is gearing up for the grand opening of its $120 million Casino Del Sol Hotel & Conference Center Nov. 11.
Being built adjacent to Casino Del Sol, the property will feature 215 guest rooms, a conference center with 65,000 square feet of function space, five dining outlets, a spa and a fitness center. The tribe also operates the Casino of the Sun and a 5,000-seat open-air concert venue, in Tucson.
Tucson has one other casino hotel, the Tohono O’odham Nation’s 150-room Desert Diamond Casino & Hotel, which offers more than 9,900-square feet of meeting space.
In Maricopa, 30 minutes south of Phoenix, Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Resort unveiled a $20 million, 152-room hotel tower addition in July, bringing its total number of guest rooms to 300.
The Ak-Chin Indian Community property features a pool with a swim-up bar, a 40,000-square-foot casino, four restaurants and an entertainment venue.
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area’s newest casino resort is the $400 million, 497-room Talking Stick Resort & Casino in Scottsdale, which opened last year.
Owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and adjacent to the tribe’s Talking Stick Golf Course, it received the AAA Four Diamond award for the first time for 2011.
It delivers a 900-slot casino, 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space, a 13,000-square-foot spa, eight restaurants, 10 lounges and a 640-seat showroom.
Almost two years old is the Gila River Indian Community’s $200 million 242-room Wild Horse Hotel & Casino near Chandler. The property has 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 restaurants.
Also on Gila River land is the 500-room Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Hotel, which offers 70,000 square feet of meeting space and 36 holes of golf.
The Phoenix-Scottsdale area also has the Yavapai Nation’s AAA Four Diamond, 246-room Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino in Fountain Hills with 25,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and two golf courses.
East of Flagstaff, the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise began construction in April on the new $140 million Twin Arrows Casino Resort, which will include a casino and a hotel and is slated to open by 2013.
Other Arizona meetings-equipped casinos include the 80-room Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, north of Phoenix; the 128-room Hon-Dah Resort Casino & Conference Center in Pinetop in the White Mountains; and the Apache Gold Casino Resort in San Carlos, which has a 146-room Best Western and golf.
North of Santa Fe, N.M., is the 587-acre Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, which 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.
New Mexico got its first Hard Rock property in June last year when the Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque was rebranded the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Albuquerque.
Just prior to the rebranding, the resort had completed a renovation that included new decor and a new cantina-style restaurant and club. It offers a 200-room hotel, 30,000 square feet of meeting space, a 2,500-seat multipurpose theater and 27 holes of golf.
Also in the Albuquerque area is the 228-room Sandia Resort and Casino, which has golf and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space. The nearby Santa Ana Pueblo has a casino and the 350-room Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, which includes golf and 70,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.
The Ruidoso area has the 273-room Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino, owned by the Mescalero Apache, with golf and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
Washington/Oregon
The NIGC’s Pacific Northwest region showed a 5.3 percent gaming revenue increase for the fiscal year ending June 2010, following a 6.1 percent increase the previous 12 months.
Northern Quest Resort & Casino in Airway Heights near downtown Spokane opened a new outdoor concert and event pavilion in June. Among performers at the pavilion’s Pepsi Outdoor Summer Concerts were Willie Nelson, the Beach Boys, Reba McEntire, The Judds, and Toby Keith with Eric Church.
With more than 11,000 square feet of space, and holding over 5,000 people, it can also be rented for private outdoor events.
“This venue is unlike any other in the Spokane region and will bring in big-name acts for people to enjoy,” says Phil Haugen, Northern Quest general manager. “We saw a great opportunity for a unique outdoor venue like this. In many cases, people will be able to see performers in Spokane they otherwise would have had to travel to Seattle or Portland to see.”
The Kalispel Tribe casino, which received the AAA Four Diamond rating for 2011, completed a $200 million expansion in December 2009, adding a 250-room hotel and over 22,000 square feet of meeting space that included an 11,000-square-foot ballroom.
Near Yakima, the Yakama Nation broke ground in May on a $90 million expansion of its Legends Casino. Expected to be completed by September 2012, the project includes a 200-room hotel, a restaurant, a spa, a 5,400-square-foot convention and banquet hall, and four smaller meeting rooms.
“This addition will greatly enhance more employment opportunities for the members of the Yakama Nation while giving our visitors a new and exciting attraction,” says John Cooper, president and CEO of the Yakima Valley VCB.
Near Olympia in Shelton, the Squaxin Island Tribe unveiled its long-awaited 18-hole championship golf course on Sept. 16 at its Little Creek Casino Resort. The Salish Cliffs Golf Club is par-72 and almost 7,300 yards from championship tees.
The property has a 900-slot casino, a 98-room hotel and more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 22,500-square-foot events center.
The Swinomish Tribal Community has an expansion of its Swinomish Casino on the shores of Padilla Bay in Anacortes under way. Expected to open next spring, the project includes a 98-room hotel, restaurant, wine bar, casino expansion and more than 9,000 square feet of meeting space.
“The hotel’s location, natural beauty, designs and enhanced amenities will make this one of the finest casino hotels in the region, a true destination,” says Mike Wootan, general manager of Swinomish Casino.
A big boost for casino resort offerings in the Seattle area came in 2008 with the opening of the Tulalip Resort Casino’s 370-room AAA Four Diamond hotel addition, which included 30,000 square feet of meeting space, and the $375 million expansion of Casino Snoqualmie, which included an 11,000-square-foot ballroom, nine restaurants and 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; in Bow, the 103-room Skagit Valley Casino Resort; in Ocean Shores, the 150-room beachfront Quinault Beach Resort and Casino; and north of Bellingham, the 105-room Silver Reef Hotel, Casino & Spa.
In Pendleton, Ore. the 100-room Wildhorse Resort & Casino, which has 18,000 square feet of meeting space, recently unveiled a new $45 million-plus addition that includes a 10-story, 202-room hotel tower and a four-theater Cineplex.
Among meetings-ready Oregon casinos that have expanded are Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville, which in June 2009 added 154 guest rooms, bringing the total to 298, and Mill Casino Hotel, which opened a 92-room hotel tower in 2008, bringing its total rooms to 204.
Other Oregon meetings properties include the 93-room Three Rivers Casino & Hotel in Florence; the 308-room Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City; the 254-room Spirit Mountain Casino in Willamina; and the 139-room Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino in Warm Springs.
Other States
In Worley, Idaho, 30 minutes from Spokane, the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel has 12,000 square feet of conference space, a casino and the Circling Raven Golf Club.
In May the Coeur d’Alene Tribe marked the completion of a $75 million expansion. The project added 98 guest rooms to the existing 202 rooms, a fitness center, new restaurants, a 15,000-square foot spa, additional casino space and two outdoor amphitheaters.
“Our guests can expect something very special here,” says the resort’s CEO, Dave LaSarte-Meeks. “Years of planning have gone into what we believe will be a unique, luxury destination resort.”
Colorado’s first Native American casino resort, the Southern Ute Tribe’s Sky Ute Casino Resort & Conference Center near Ignacio, is almost three years old. It features a 146-room hotel and almost 19,000 square feet of meeting space.
Montana has the Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson, which has a casino and banquet space for up to 300 people.
Nevada has three Native American casinos, including 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.
