TOPPENISH -- Responding to increasing regional gaming competition and their own long-held dream, Yakama Nation officials Thursday unveiled an ambitious $90 million expansion to make Legends Casino a destination resort by late next year.
Tribal officials laid out plans for a 200-room hotel, convention and banquet hall, parking garage, restaurant, meeting rooms, swimming pool, spa
The expansion also includes a 200-seat bingo hall.
Leon Thompson, vice chairman of the casino's board of directors, said at a news conference that casino customers have been requesting a hotel.
"In the gaming industry, we need to keep up with the competition. Other tribes are expanding," Thompson told a group of reporters, casino employees and tribal members at the casino. "As Central Washington's No. 1 gaming destination, we need to keep up with the competition."
The Yakamas' major competitor, Wildhorse, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation's casino, is working on a $67 million project to add casino space, a theater and high-rise hotel at its facility near Pendleton, Ore., according to The Associated Press.
"We want to let Wildhorse know we aren't horsing around," said Tribal Council Chairman Harry Smiskin, drawing laughter.
For the first time, revenue at Indian casinos declined across the country in 2009 in large part because of the economic downturn, but that isn't preventing tribes from expanding their gambling operations.
Dozens of new casinos and expansion projects have been completed in the past two years nationally, and dozens more are planned, according to the latest Indian Gaming Industry Report.
"The economy will improve at some point, construction costs are down, and tribes are trying to prepare for the future," analyst Alan Meister said. "When things turn around, you don't want to have to start from scratch. You want to be able to hit the ground running."
Smiskin said the nation will break ground May 16. The general tribal membership has approved the expansion up to a maximum price tag of $90 million.
Officials expect to create at least 150 permanent new jobs, not including construction.
Legends Casino, which opened 13 years ago, employs about 670 people in work spaces designed for 300. Added space for employees, including their own buffet and exercise facility, is part of the project along with a day-care center for their children.
Casino Assistant General Manager Arlen Washines said the hotel and expanded gaming are expected to boost revenues by 20 percent to 35 percent. He declined to disclose the casino's current revenues.
He said the nation has hired a financial consultant to obtain financing for the project.
Bergman Walls and Associates of Las Vegas, Nev., will design the new casino. The firm also designed the Snoqualmie Casino near North Bend and resorts in Nevada.
Designs show a six-story hotel along the southwest side of the current casino and a parking garage to the north.
The main casino entrance will be relocated closer to the buffet area and feature a depiction of Celilo Falls, a commercial fishing and trading hub for Northwest Indians before it was flooded by the construction of The Dalles Dam in 1957.
Material from The Associated Press was included in this report.
* David Lester can be reached at 509-577-7674 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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