BEND, Ore. — Warm Springs tribal officials in Central Oregon plan to open a new casino in a few weeks.
It's not in the Columbia Gorge, as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs long hoped.
But it is on U.S. Highway 26 linking the Portland area with Central Oregon cities.
Tribal officials tell the Bend Bulletin (http://bit.ly/wlFcj6 ) they hope the 24-hour casino at Warm Springs will triple or quadruple gross revenue to as much as $12 million a year.
Last month, the tribes closed the casino at Kah-Nee-Ta resort 20 miles away and off the main road.
"Kah-Nee-Ta is so far off the beaten path (visitors) had to make the decision to go there," said Deepak Sehga, chairman of the casino board. "It was not an ad hoc thing. Indian Head's easy access encourages people to stop by and take a look."
The new, 40,000-square-foot casino has a restaurant, gift shop, deli and an 18,000-square-foot gambling room with 500 slot machines and eight blackjack tables. It cost $13.5 million. It opens to the public at 6 p.m. on Feb. 4.
It is expected to employ 280 people, 70 to 80 in the restaurant.
Opposition from public officials and conservationists has so far thwarted the tribe's efforts to put a casino at Cascade Locks in the gorge. After the election of Gov. John Kitzhaber, a foe of a gorge casino, the tribe started on the new casino.
"Our number one goal is still to move to the gorge," said Sehga. "That goal does not go away, because we've been stymied by government agencies in the last 10 years."
So, he said, the new building is considered temporary and might eventually become a multipurpose building, he said.
The resort's general manager, Carlos Smith, says the casino space there might become a spa, and the resort's marketing strategy will shift.
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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com