Nez Perce Tribe’s new casino on track to open in July

LEWISTON – The Nez Perce Tribe’s Clearwater River Casino resort is scheduled to open July 20, with an adjoining 50-room hotel set to open in late August.

Tribal leaders broke ground on the project last September. It had been scheduled to open earlier, but changes to the original plan and cold weather that slowed construction caused delays, Jesse Leighton, Nez Perce Tribal executive director, told the Lewiston Tribune.

The casino is being built just east of the current casino on U.S. 95, about four miles east of Lewiston. The original casino, opened in 1996, was meant to be temporary. It will remain open until the new casino is finished.

“It took awhile to get going, but now it’s going to go very fast,” Leighton said. “I’m very happy with where things are.”

Some changes in the original plan include reducing the size of the convention center and increasing the size of a nonsmoking gaming area.