Published March 2002

Tribal casinos add perks
to lure guests

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

There are now more than 20 Indian casinos operating in Washington state, all contributing to a growth in tourism as well as attracting local residents.

Three of the largest and best known of those casinos are in Snohomish and Skagit counties: the Tulalip Casino adjacent to I-5 west of Marysville; Skagit Valley Casino adjacent to I-5 north of Mount Vernon at Bow; and Northern Lights Casino at Anacortes, on the Padilla Bay side of State Route 20.

All three venues offer a variety of games of chance, from video games similar to Las Vegas-style slot machines to gaming tables for Blackjack, Craps, Pai Gow Poker and Roulette. Two of the casinos incorporate Native American cultural and historical influences into their decor — Tulalip and Swinomish — while the Skagit Valley Casino focuses on duplicating a Las Vegas gambling atmosphere.

One of the most successful in the state, the Tulalip Casino has been so popular that tribal members are building a new, 227,000-square-foot, multimillion-dollar casino three times as large.

Due to open in 2003, the $72 million project includes two hotels, a convention center and several recreation facilities, all part of the Quil Ceda Village development west of Marysville where Wal-Mart and Home Depot are retail anchors that will spur future growth.

Also, a new mini-mall of smaller, independent businesses has just opened, and future plans call for new facilities for the Greater Marysville-Tulalip Chamber of Commerce and tourism promotion offices.

Along with the retail development and an amusement park, the new Quil Ceda Village and its casino are expected to attract several million people each year, adding to tourism revenues for the tribes, the Marysville community and many north Snohomish County businesses.

When the new casino opens next year, it will be followed within a year by a 150- to 250-room hotel, then the convention center with facilities for up to 2,000 people and, after that, a second hotel in the 2,000-acre business park and tribal village.

Overall, the total build-out cost for the front of the development (along I-5 between the 88th and 116th Street NE interchanges) will be something less than $1 billion, Business Park Manager T. Peter Mills said at the start of the casino project.

“We have $10 million invested so far (in the business park), and we'll probably get to $50 (million) or $60 million in cold cash from the tribes,” Mills said.

In Skagit County, The Skagit Valley Casino — now being marketed simply as The Skagit — offers a huge Vegas-style gaming facility that includes a new hotel and a showroom for big-name musicians and entertainment, including such performers as Glen Campbell and the Coasters.

Last year, the casino also added more conference and convention space, bringing the total to 14,000 square feet, and this year, the facility added an indoor heated swimming pool, sauna, fitness room, hot tub and showers.

The 25-by-25-foot swimming pool is located next to the hotel and connected by a glass-enclosed skywalk. The pool building is also enclosed by glass and features a retractable roof, with a sundeck located adjacent to the pool complex.

General Manager Don Guglielmino, who operates the casino for the Upper Skagit tribe, said the new pool complex provides “an amenity not offered at other area hotels ... certainly not at any other regional casino.”

He said The Skagit’s Vegas-style casino and celebrity entertainment are attracting more groups and provide more appeal to Seattle-area residents.

In Anacortes, the Swinomish tribe’s Northern Lights Casino is undergoing remodeling both inside and out. The 73,000-square-foot casino includes 250 slot machines, 38 gaming tables and two restaurants in a comfortable, Native American cultural setting.

It also provides an off-track betting lounge, spacious bingo hall with a full-service deli, a roomy Keno lounge, poker room and banquet and party facilities for private functions. Live entertainment is provided weekly, including comedy acts, musical groups and dancing.

Manager Brian Wilbur said the remodeling of the restaurant with an outdoor theme, rock wall and waterfall will carry through the Northern Lights’ theme launched a year ago when the casino was remodeled. The bingo hall will be next. Also, the outside of the casino now has a rock wall and waterfall nearly installed, with tree landscaping coming later this month, to further the theme of the venue.

Wilbur, who said the casino draws well from Everett, Marysville and Snohomish County as well as from its core area of Mount Vernon, Anacortes and Oak Harbor, is adding another attraction this spring — a gasoline service station — for the convenience of guests. Purchases in the casino will earn gas discounts, and gas purchases will earn credits for use in the casino, he said.

For more information about the casinos, visit the Internet at www.tulalipcasino.com, www.theskagit.com or www.swinomishcasino.com.

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