Striking it Rich on Tribal Lands

on location: west ❖

jack dwyer

Striking it Rich on Tribal Lands Native American casinos bring glitz and glamor to many parts of the West

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icture a Las Vegas casino equipped with 3,700 slot machines. The casino also offers 130 table games, including blackjack, poker, mini baccarat and craps. In an adjacent resort, visitors can enjoy relaxing at a spa, attending a world-class performance at a theater or golfing on an expansive course. The place emanates an atmosphere of decadence, luxury and free-wheeling fun.

Now picture that casino, not in Las Vegas, but in a California valley.

The pleasure palace in question is Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula. The state’s largest casino, Pechanga LeisureGroupTravel.com

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians operates Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif.

is one of many Native American casinos that have sprung up across the nation in recent years. Its gaming floor takes up 188,000 square feet of floor space. The largest casino in Las Vegas, MGM Grand, is 16,500 square feet smaller and has 1,000 fewer slot machines. These statistics, which place a Native American casino in California on a par with the largest casino in the gambling capital of the United States, show how far Native American gaming has come since its humble beginnings in 1979.

The movement that led to the pro-

liferation of casinos like Pechanga began in 1979 when the Seminole tribe of Florida opened a high-stakes bingo hall. The state tried to shut down the operation, and a series of court battles ensued. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Seminole tribe.

Eight years later, in the case California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that as sovereign nations, Native American tribes have the right to open gambling operations even if gambling is illegal elsewhere in the state. Since that ruling, more than 400 Native American August 2009 61

on location: west ❖ gaming operations have sprung up across the United States. Around 40 percent of the 562 federally recognized tribes engage in gaming.

Tribes that suffer from poverty and unemployment often turn to the gaming industry to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. Casino profits go directly to the tribal government, which uses the funds for social services, scholarships and community development. For example, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Native American Reservation (approximately 2,700 members) own the Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Pendleton, Ore., which employs 505 people. The tribes use some of the casino’s profits to restore the salmon population in the Columbia River basin—protecting a species that has been central to the tribes’ cultural since time immemorial.

Although a typical Native American casino resembles any other casino in most ways, some do offer access to Native American culture. Jackson Rancheria Casino in Jackson, Calif., serves dishes such as Native American tacos and fry bread. Farther north on

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The Tamastslikt Cultural Institute at Oregon’s Wildhorse Casino.

the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington, the Suquamish Clearwater Casino keeps museum-quality works of Native American art in its gallery. Those wishing to further explore Indian culture can visit the nearby Suquamish Museum and Cultural Center.

Many Western casinos have an advantage over those in other parts of the country because they are close to reservations that welcome visitors.

Guests of Casino del Sol (near Tucson) can visit the nearby Pascua Yaqui tribe to observe their famous Easter ceremonies. Some Pueblo Indians in

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the Southwestern United States still live in the adobe communities built by their ancestors.

Native American resorts host many of the world-class entertainers that grace the stages of their counterparts in Las Vegas. Stars like Liza Minnelli, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby, Ray Romano and Bob Dylan have all traveled to the Temecula Valley to give performances at Pechanga’s theater. The resort regularly puts on productions of Broadway musicals.

Casinos have so far proved very successful for many tribes. Fire Rock Casino in Church Rock, N.M., owned by the Navajo nation, currently has almost a 60 percent EBITA (net profit before interest, tax and amortization expenses)—and the number seems to be going up. The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise is planning three new casinos in Arizona and New Mexico.

One of the best things about Native American casinos is that they’re almost everywhere in the West. So wherever you’re headed, you can do what generations before you have done—trust your luck. LGT

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Red Lion Hotel & Casino

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino

Red Lion Hotel & Casino in Elko, Nev., is the perfect homeon-the-road for both business and pleasure travelers. From wireless Internet to in-room safes, I-Pod docks and jack packs, the Red Lion offers its guests security and state-of-theart convenience. An Elko landmark for more than a quarter century, the hotel has undergone a recent renovation with an eye toward offering guests a level of comfort that exceeds their expectations. Rooms feature comfy pillowtop beds, flatscreen TVs, easy chairs and many other amenities. The Red Lion boasts 222 guest rooms, two restaurants, 24-hour gaming, a fitness center, gift shop, sports bar and Starbucks. Shuttle service is available to the city’s other attractions.

Convenient to Interstate 80, the Elko Red Lion is also the perfect location for meetings and social gatherings. With venues ranging from intimate meeting rooms and a spacious ballroom to a full casino showroom. Truly a full-service hotel-casino, the Red Lion can accommodate almost any size group. (redlionhotelelko.com)

Located on the western slope of `the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the California town of Coarsegold, Chukchansi Gold offers 56,000 square feet of gaming space. Featured are more than 1,800 slot machines, with 900 penny and nickel machines in addition to $1, $5, $25 and $100 slots. Among the 46 table games are 3-Card Poker, Blackjack and Spanish 21. The new enclosed 3 Peaks Poker Room offers Texas Hold ’Em, 7-Card Stud and Omah. In addition to the signature Vintage Steak & Seafood Restaurant, dining choices include the all-you-caneat California Market Buffet, classic Italian cuisine at Nativo’s and Deuces Diner, a ’50s-style spot for hamburgers, fries and milkshakes. Guest room amenities include safe, mini-refrigerator, high-speed Internet and complimentary rubber duckies.

Operated by the Chukchansi Indians, the resort also offers rejuvenating treatments at Serenity Springs Spa and live music or karaoke on weekends at Casa de Fuego nightclub. The group sales department can arrange overnight and day trip packages. (chukchansigold.com)

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on our radar: west ❖

CALIFORNIA A little over a year after fire damaged the world’s largest working movie studio lot, Universal Studios Hollywood has reopened most of its iconic sets for group tours and unveiled innovative shooting locations designed to meet contemporary film production needs. The new and recreated sets are featured on the “Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour,” recently upgraded with Hi-Def digital servers and flat-screen monitors on trams. Production has resumed on the world-famous Courthouse Square, Brownstone Street and an enhanced New York Street. New locations include a gas station, firehouse, London Street and, most notably, a modern cityscape with glass-and-steel facade structures. The contemporary cityscape is the largest urban backlot shooting location in Los Angeles. Additional sets are under construction and expected to open in 2010. Also featured on the tour is the new studio of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, which recently moved from New York to California. (universal studioshollywood.com) HAWAII The new Honolulu Surfing Museum, located next to Jimmy Buffett’s Restaurant and Bar at the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber, offers an interactive immersion into Hawaii’s surfing culture. The museum explores the origins, evolution and current state of surfing, showcasing top surfing legends from past and present. Memorabilia includes vintage surfboards, classic surfing footage, Hollywood props and a historical collection of musical instruments that are unique to Hawaii. Video monitors throughout the exhibit run nonstop loops of surfing highlights filmed by several of the sport’s most respected cinematographers intertwined with LeisureGroupTravel.com

captioned black-and-white newsreels of Waikiki surf riding in the days before “talkies” brought sound to the big screen. (honolulusurfmuseum.com) NEW MEXICO The newly created New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe is a stateof-the-art, immersive exhibition on New Mexico’s colorful past. Its multimedia environment explores the early history of indigenous people, 400 years of Spanish colonization, the Mexican Period, and travel and commerce on the Santa Fe Trail. The exhibition also details the flourishing of New Mexico’s world-renowned arts communities and the coming of the Atomic Age. The museum is located directly behind the Palace of the Governors, the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S., right on the Santa Fe Plaza. (505-4765200, nmhistorymuseum.org) WASHINGTON Savor Seattle Food Tours has launched “Coffee & Chocolate Indulgence Tour,” a 2¾-hour adventure that focuses on Seattle’s rich coffee history. It gives guests the opportunity to sample mocha-braised short ribs paired with wine and dessert at the top of the Space Needle, cheeses rubbed with espresso and cocoa, espresso-smoked sea salt caramels, espresso specialty drinks, chocolate and coffee cocktails, Colombian hot chocolate, mochachino cheesecake and a bag of fresh-roasted coffee beans to take home. Cost is $69. (888987-2867, savorseattletours.com).

CORRECTION: A photo of Verde Canyon Railroad on page 74 of the June 2009 issue of Leisure Group Travel was incorrectly identified as “New Mexico.”

The correct location is Clarkdale, Arizona.

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