(A standing Ovation) The Success of the Gila River Indian Community !
Gambling Times - Player's Guide
On June 25, 1994 the Gila River Indian Community opened the doors to their first casino. The Lone Butte casino was a small 8000 square foot facility that housed 271 slot machines, a deli, and employed 300 people. By May 13, 1995 the first Wildhorse Pass Sprung structure was opened, the first business to open on a parcel of 5000 acres of undeveloped land, which was slated to become home to a permanent casino, hotel-resort, golf course, and retail outlets. This temporary structure included 500 slots, 1000 seat bingo hall, a deli and buffet. Employment grew to over 1000 with 65% of these original employees tribal members.
In a bold move that has never been seen in the gaming industry, commercial or Indian, the Community soon broke ground on the permanent Wildhorse and Vee Quiva Casinos. The plan was to build them simultaneously and open them within 30 days of each other. This plan included closing the two temporary casinos, moving personnel and equipment to the new casinos all while keeping two casinos operational at all times. The strict timelines were kept and in November 1997 Wildhorse Pass Casino was opened. Vee Quiva Casino was opened at the beginning of December of the same year.
Together the two casinos created more than 1500 jobs, the majority held by tribal members who live on the reservation. The renewed commitment to tribal services helped create another 1,000 employment opportunities. As a direct result, the community's unemployment rate fell from 40% in 1993 to its' current level of 15%. (end)
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History) from their own site
1993
- Gila River Indian Community signed gaming compact
1994
- Original Lone Butte Casino opened May 25 (6,800 sq.ft.)
- 1 Deli
- 271 Slot Machines
(jump to):
2008
- The new Lone Butte Casino opened in November..................................60,000,000
2009
- The new Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino opened October 30................200,000,000
2011
(azcentral.com) 14 Dec 2011 it is announced..............................................160,000,000
replace old Vee Quiva....................$135,000,000
improvements to Lone Butte...........$25,000,000
Total Investment from 2008-current.........................................................$420,000,000
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Gila River Casinos
Gila River Casinos is a Casinos/Gaming business with its headquarters based in Chandler, AZ. Their employees gross about $67227, and currently, there are 0 job openings in the company. Their employee count is greater than 1000, while their annual revenue amount to more than fifty million.
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Tribal projects boost Phoenix construction sector - Phoenix Business Journal
The Tohono O’odham Nation still wants to build a $500 million casino in the West Valley if it can overcome lawsuits from the city of Glendale and other tribes opposing the project.
Quote from same article: (“Fortunately, the tribes have weathered the economic downturn quite well and are one of the groups that is continuing to move forward with large-scale projects.")