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A beam signed by tribal citizens and San Manuel Casino employees is slowly cranked up to the top of San Manuel’s still under construction hotel tower on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. The hotel is slated to open in winter 2021. (Courtesy of San Manuel Casino)

I was driving down the 210 Freeway last week when I looked over to my left and was surprised by the massive hotel tower rising to the sky that had not been there just a year ago.

San Manuel Casino is making progress on its expansion project that will include a hotel, an entertainment center, expanded gaming space and new restaurants.

Last Friday, there was an intimate and socially-distanced topping off ceremony where workers placed a beam on the top floor of the 17-story hotel.

If you stop by the current casino, you can see a large 3D model showing what the resort will look like across from Big Mo’ Cafe. The detailed model even has flashing lights on the side of the hotel tower and in the brake lights of tiny model cars.

I spoke with the casino’s general manager, Peter Arceo, about what the fully completed resort will have to offer as well as the part of the project that’s going to open a little bit later. Read more. 

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Beyond Southern California… 

In Southern California we’ve been seeing casinos opening up new concepts following the closures of their buffets and it looks like similar things are happening in Las Vegas. Circus Circus closed its buffet in March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and though it originally planned to reopen in late December, it now looks like its turning that space into a food court. Eater Las Vegas has more.