New Mexico’s Tesuque Pueblo has closed its 23-year old Camel Rock Casino and will open its newer, larger Tesuque Casino eight miles away on tribal land the day after Thanksgiving.
The new casino is 72,000 square feet and located just off U.S. 84 next to the Santa Fe Opera. It replaces a casino that was 50,000 SF. The operator expects about 5,000 patrons to attend the opening.
The tribe anticipates that the casino project will not only generate revenue for the tribe but will spark the regional economy. John Kubiak, chairman of the Pueblo of Tesuque Development Corp. told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “Our hope is that this is an economic engine that’s going to help provide tribal services to the tribal members and also to create opportunities for nontribal members up and down the corridor there.” It will employ 275.
Kubiak wouldn’t detail what will happen to the old facility, except that the tribe would “redeploy it into some other endeavor.” He added, “Final plans to repurpose it have not been formulated,” he said. “We’re looking at a number of different opportunities, both on a temporary and longer-term basis, but I’m not at liberty to discuss what those are at this point.”
The location of the new casino next to the opera house is controversial, with some opera patrons wondering how it might affect the outdoor venue. However, the casino and opera house officials have worked closely.
Kubiak told the New Mexican, “I think our relationship, both sides, is very positive,” he said. “I think we’re going to have a positive impact on opera patrons who can enjoy our casino either before or after the opera. I think there’s a lot of synergies that we’ve been talking back and forth with the opera on.”
Although many slots are being transferred from the old to the new casino, there will also be man new ones added, he said. As for the down time, Kubiak said, “There’s no way around the fact that we’re just going to be down for a few days.”
