The Gila River Indian Community of Arizona is making a big splash tonight with the opening of a $215 million casino resort. The Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino features 1,002 slot machines, 71 gaming tables, a non-smoking gaming area, five lounges, a nightclub, a showroom, a fast food court, several restaurants and a 242-room hotel. "There's no casino in Arizona that's going to be able to compete with our showroom," Harold Baugus, the chief executive officer of Gila River Gaming Enterprises, told The Arizona Republic. Other tribes aren't going to stand by and see if that is true. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community is opening a casino with a 497-room hotel in spring 2010 and the Tohono O'odham Nation is proposing an even bigger facility in the area. "The idea of the whole thing is to get people to come from farther distances, to get them to stay longer and to get them to spend more," Alan Meister, a principal economist and gaming expert for Nathan Associates, told the paper. Get the Story:
Resort-casino first of flashy new breed in Ariz. gaming (The Arizona Republic 10/30)
Talking Stick destined to be Valley's largest casino hotel (The Arizona Republic 10/30)
New Gila casino is state's largest (The East Valley Tribune 10/30)
