The Yakama Nation plans to break ground in May on a $90 million casino expansion that will add a six-story hotel, conference facilities and a spa on its central Washington reservation near Yakima.
Across the Columbia River, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are working on a $67 million project of their own. The expansion includes more casino space, a Cineplex and high-rise hotel amid the wheat fields and cattle ranches of northeast Oregon.
The depressed economy of the past couple of years has seen business declines in casinos across the country but the Yakama and Umatilla tribes are optimistic as customers are beginning to return. The latest Indian Gaming Industry Report says dozens of new and existing casino expansions are planned nationally.
Yakama tribal council chairman Harry Smiskin said, "In order for Legends Casino to remain competitive, we have to grow with the market."
The Umatilla tribe is hoping to attract a younger crowd to its Wildhorse Resort and Casino by adding 20,000 square feet of gambling space, a four-screen movie theater and a 10-story hotel. Wildhorse Resort already operates a casino, small hotel, RV park, golf course and museum four miles east of Pendleton, Oregon. The tribe has posted this brief animated video showing how the new resort will look from the outside when it is completed late this year:
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