On October 15, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians shared future plans for the Palms in Las Vegas, which they recently bought from Red Rock Resorts for $650 million.
The Southern California tribe, which recently rebranded its San Manuel Casino to Yaamava’ Resort and Casino, plans to focus on locals gaming.
The off-Strip casino closed in the spring due to Covid. The tribe hopes to reopen it early next year. Before it can do that, its development arm, the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority, must obtain regulatory approval from the state.
The Palms is the tribe’s first resort venture off Indian land. Tribal Chairman Ken Ramirez said in a statement: “San Manuel is a successful casino operator who brings values and principles to the communities we serve.” He added, “If you want to do business with us, you always find us to be a willing partner, one who works every day to be the best in all we do. We want to set a higher standard for tribal governments, gaming operations, hospitality and philanthropy.”
Although a possible name change may be in the offing, it will reopen as the Palms, according to Laurens Vosloo, a member of the authority’s management committee, who was interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Regarding food and beverages, Vosloo said most of the food court vendors will stay, but added, “Maybe (with) one or two, we’ll take a look and see if we can do something fresh and new and different over there.
The tribe will also update the sportsbook while downsizing its physical footprint. The back of house will get special attention too, said Vosloo, who observed, “It looks like it hasn’t been touched since 2001. It’s not just always about making money, right? It’s about taking care of the people that help them get there.”
