Puyallup Tribe To Open New Casino
The Puyallup Tribe doesn’t plan on missing the boat and will go ahead with the planned opening of its new gambling complex today.
The jewel of the new casino complex is supposed to be the Emerald Queen, a 292-foot riverboat. But the boat has been stuck on the Mississippi for nearly two months, awaiting transport by barge through the Panama Canal and up the West Coast to the Tacoma tideflats.
So the tribe will open the casino to the public Friday in a shoreside building alongside Blair Waterway. When the riverboat arrives, the gambling will move on board and the building will be used as a restaurant and lounge.
The $21 million gambling complex will bring Las Vegas-style gambling to Tacoma for the first time. It is the most expensive tribal casino to be started in Washington, and because of its prime urban location and access to Interstate 5, it is projected to be the most profitable.
“I don’t think we’re very popular with any of the other tribal casinos right now,” said Frank Wright, the Puyallup Tribe’s gaming administrator.
“A lot of their best people have quit and come to work for us. I think there’s a general feeling that, if you’re in the business, this is the place to be right now.”
The tribe already has hired 500 casino workers and expects to hire another 200 within the next month, Wright said. The total annual payroll will exceed $10 million, he said.
The casino’s shoreside building is a warehouse-style structure designed to look like 19th century New Orleans. Inside, there are brass ceiling tiles, crystal chandeliers and balconies with wrought-iron railings.
Employees will wear period costumes - brocade vests for the dealers and short cancan skirts for cocktail waitresses.
“We spared no expense on any of this,” Wright said. “We didn’t cut any corners. It’s a first-class facility in every way. People who leave here are going to feel they got their money’s worth.”
The Emerald Queen Casino will offer poker, pai gow poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, keno and pull tabs.