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Sneak peek at Desert Diamond Casino West Valley. Here's a look inside the new gambling facility near Glendale.

The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley(Photo: Tom Tingle/The Republic)

Six weeks after reaching a settlement with the state, the Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise announced it will begin construction of its long-planned resort and casino by the end of the year.

The project faced multiple legal challenges after leaders of the southern Arizona tribe announced they would build the resort and casino near Glendale's sports and entertainment district in 2009. 

The tribe eventually opened a limited version of Desert Diamond Casino West Valley in 2015. Now, work will get underway on a 1 million-square-foot resort with five restaurants, bars and a full-scale casino that will be more than double the size of the current facility.

"This has been a long time coming, and we will continue to work with the community to ensure that construction proceeds smoothly," said Andy Asselin, CEO of the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, in a written statement on June 30.

The $400 million development will take about 20 months to construct, according to tribal officials. The current casino will remain open during construction.

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How different is the casino?

The resort will go up north of the current casino, which the tribe will use as a warehouse once construction is complete.

The casino will cover 75,000 square feet, compared with the current facility's 35,000 square feet. And it will offer table games such as blackjack and poker, as well as Las Vegas-style slot machines. 

Tohono O'odham spokesman Matt Smith said there are no plans to add table games to the current casino.

The tribe opened the Class 2 casino with bingo-style slot machines and no table games because the state denied a Class 3 gaming license. The state also denied the casino a liquor license. 

The tribe filed a lawsuit against Arizona for denying a higher-level gaming license and the state responded with several counterclaims.

The two entities reached a settlement in May, allowing the tribe to move forward with the project as long as the tribe didn't build more casinos in the Phoenix area in the foreseeable future. 

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The battle for blackjack

Getting a casino with blackjack and beer was born out of a long battle between the Tohono O'odham Nation and opponents, which at times have included Glendale, other tribes and the state. 

Tribal leaders believed they had the right to open a casino on West Valley land that it had purchased based on a settlement with the federal government to replace land that was flooded by a government-installed dam on the Gila River. The tribe purchased the land in 2003, a year after Arizona voters approved a gaming compact that state officials said would prohibit new casinos in the Valley. The state accused the tribe of fraud.  

In early 2016, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that the West Valley casino complied with federal law and the gaming compact. However, the case was still working its way through federal court when the state and tribe reached a settlement. 

Republic reporter Jessica Boehm contributed to this article.

READ MORE:

What you need to know about the West Valley casino settlement

Arizona, tribe strike deal for blackjack, other table games at West Valley casino

Casino feud: Secret meetings, trashed notes

Timeline of new Tohono O'odham Nation casino

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