Washington tribes see good and bad amid recession

Monday, January 25, 2010  

Revenues at tribal casinos in Washington grew slightly last year even as some tribes have taken at hit.

Tribes in Washington took in $1.6 billion in 2009, up from $1.5 billion in 2008. The Puyallup Tribe and the Tulalip Tribes saw success with new facilities in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

But others haven't been doing so well. The Skokomish Tribe closed its casino, the Nooksack Tribe has missed payments on its debt and the Snoqualmie Tribe isn't meeting projections on its $330 million casino.

"We were riding a high wave and a long one," Ron Allen, the chairman of the Washington Indian Gaming Association and the chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, told The Seattle Times. "You didn't have to think, you could just go ahead and implement a marketing plan because it sounded good, you didn't have to question it or challenge it. Now this is forcing tribes to step back to say, 'wait a minute now.'"

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For some tribes, casinos no longer a sure bet (The Seattle Times 1/24)