TT Tohono Odum Nation plans to demolish its bare-bodied Desert Diamond Casino complex on 7350 S. Nogales Highway and replace it with a luxurious casino, 200-room hotel and restaurant.
Joe Calabrese, CEO of Desert Diamond, estimated the total cost of the project at $80 million.
"A resolution to build the project recently passed a tribal council," said Calabrese. "We hope to start construction this year. We are working on a design, but we have not chosen one.
"This construction will be done gradually so that we don't have to shut down the casino completely. The game will not be interrupted."
O'odham also owns the more glamorous Desert Diamond Casino, just east of Highway 19 on Pima Mine Road, which opened four years ago. The property has three entertaining restaurants, like a champagne buffet, and a 2,400-seat hall that hosts boxing matches and concerts. It cost $52 million to build.
And near Wye, about 100 miles west of Tucson on the western edge of the Tohono Odum Nation, the tribe operates the Golden Ha: Mountain Casino, which opened in 1999.
The original casino, just south of East Los Reales Road, began in 1984 with Papago Bingo. Casino games were added in 1993, the same year that the U.S. Department of the Interior approved a gaming contract between Arizona and the tribe.
The Nogales Highway site consists of a huge, white, elongated tent with concrete bunkers touching it. More than 800 gambling machines are packed inside. The main interior decorations are vibrant murals of prostitutes, mountain goats, and mountain sunsets painted on the tent walls.
O'Hodam Nation President Vivian Juan Saunders said the Tohodam O'Hodam Commission discussed whether to challenge such ambitious projects in a still-dwindling economy.
"We decided that all economic development involves some risk-taking," said Juan Saunders. "We realized that we needed to diversify our operations to include more entertainment. Some people go to casinos because they love playing games. But many people just go because they want to socialize."
"We will have a 300-seat buffet and a place to enjoy live music. We also want to add things for the community, such as coffee shops and convenience stores."
Juan-Saunders wants the new casino to be fully open in the fall of 2006.
Does all this mean more competition for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Casino Del Sol?
"Absolutely!" replied Casino Del Sol Marketing Director Melissa Ward.
The 75,000-square-foot Casino del Sol on 5655 W. Valencia Road opened in 2001 with an interior modeled after the fantasy of the town of Tuscany. The ceiling is decorated with sky murals. There are more than 990 gambling machines, and they also offer blackjacks, poker, and bingo.
The complex also includes retro and elegant restaurants. And it boasts a 4,800-seat amphitheater, which Ward believes will bring competitiveness to Casino Del Sol.
"We've tried to differentiate ourselves from other casinos with name-recognition celebrities and huge followers across the country," Ward said.
She mentioned some acts that generated a generous topic of conversation.
"Van Halen reunited and played here, Toby Keith was a huge hit," Ward said. "Tom Jones is going to sing here."
The state government, Tucson and Pima counties also have stakes in the success of the new Desert Diamond project, as Arizona gaming tribes have to pay a percentage of their income to improve their citizens.
According to last year's economic impact report by the Tohono O'odham Nation, casino operations generate more than $800,000 in state taxes and more than $8 million in federal taxes each year.
The report said the Tohono Odum casino operations, including salaries, subcontractors and purchases, put more than $75 million annually into the southern Arizona economy.
Last month, Tohono Odum Nation announced a $646,292 donation to the city of Tucson and Pima counties as part of a revenue-sharing program under Proposition 202 approved by voters in 2002. 바카라사이트 추천
The fund will support more than a dozen programs in health care, education, and public safety. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will receive $331,000, while Pima County will receive $315,292.