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SANTA FE – After years of discussion and planning, Nambé Pueblo is finally going into the casino business.
The pueblo announced Wednesday that it will start construction on a casino next to Nambé’s existing travel center, located off of U.S. 84-285 north of Santa Fe and just south of Pojoaque Pueblo’s Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort.
This rendering shows the planned Nambe Falls Casino, which will be built next to existing Nambe Falls Travel Center off U.S. 84-285 north of Santa Fe.
The small Nambé Falls Casino will feature only slot machines, not gaming tables or other kinds of gambling, starting with about 180 machines, said Matt Doyle, CEO of Development Services Group, which is working with the pueblo.
Nambé has a gambling compact with state government that was signed in 2007. Doyle said the pueblo also is considering a new 22-year compact negotiated with five tribes and which was endorsed by the 2015 legislature and then signed by Gov. Susana Martinez. The new compact has been sent to federal officials for their approval.
Doyle described the planned gambling facility, with 7,310 square feet of space, as a “casino-ette.”
“It’s really about convenience-based gaming,” he said. A description provided by the pueblo said the casino will have “close parking for easy in and out access.”
A news release said the pueblo and its subsidiary, the Nambé Pueblo Gaming Enterprise, have completed financing with First National Bank of Santa Fe to launch the project. The site is on land along the highway that Nambé obtained in a land swap with Pojoaque Pueblo years ago.
The Pojoaque governor’s office did not respond to a call seeking comment Wednesday.
The new casino “will offer the most convenient gaming in Northern New Mexico,” the Nambé news release said.
“The Nambé Pueblo on behalf of our community welcomes the opportunity to create employment and serve our greater community with an excellent gaming experience” said pueblo Gov. Phillip Perez.
Shannon McKenna, president of Nambé Pueblo Gaming, said the casino “will include a themed environment” with “floor-wide mystery jackpots and a friendly customer-focused atmosphere.”
There will be a ground-breaking ceremony Friday, and the casino is scheduled to open in November 2015. Doyle said the “theme” for the casino has not been set.
Nambé has been considering a gambling operation for well more than a decade. Fourteen other tribes or pueblos name have casinos.
Several years ago, Nambé made plans for construction on a much larger casino and obtained approval from various agencies. But in 2008, it dropped those plans for a 50,000-square-foot, “Star Trek” themed casino on 30 acres due to economic concerns.
At the time, tribal officials were hoping a smaller casino would soon be built next to the travel center, which features a convenience store and fuel pumps.
The new project is being developed by Doyle’s Development Services Group & Associates, an Albuquerque-based firm that assists tribes in building businesses.
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