Caesars to Open Indian Casino
Caesars Entertainment Inc. is expected to announce plans today to open its second Indian gaming property in California, a new $200-million resort and casino northeast of Fresno.
The 250-to-300-room resort would be developed and managed for the Big Sandy Band of Western Mono Indians on tribal land 10 miles outside the city.
“We think the demographics of the market are right to support a substantial casino project,” Caesars spokesman Robert Stewart said.
A preliminary management agreement has been signed with the tribe, Stewart said, and final contracts are expected to be completed within three months, pending approval of the National Indian Gaming Council. If that happens, the resort could open in late 2005, Stewart said.
It is the second California casino being planned by Las Vegas-based Caesars in its attempt to diversify its holdings outside of Nevada.
The casino company announced last fall that it was planning a 500-room hotel, restaurant and casino complex with the Pauma-Yuima Band of Mission Indians near Temecula. That project is still in the planning stages, though a final agreement with the tribe is expected in coming months, Stewart said.
The rush by Caesars, Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. and other gaming companies into California began in 2000 when voters passed Proposition 1A, which legalized slot machines, blackjack tables and other Las Vegas-style games on Indian land. Since then more than a dozen casinos have been built on Indian land and many more are planned. The companies manage casinos in California for Indian tribes in exchange for a share of the profits.
The Caesars property would be the third casino in the Fresno area and the second operated by the Big Sandy Tribe. “It’s a great opportunity, and we didn’t want to miss that window” of development, Big Sandy Tribal Administrator Ric Contreras said.
Shares of Caesars Entertainment, formerly Park Place Entertainment Inc., fell 19 cents to $11.77 on the New York Stock Exchange.