Washington’s Tulalip Tribes have replaced the old “Q” that opened as a bingo hall in 1983 with the new $125 million Quil Ceda Creek Casino, west of Interstate 5. The property was designed by the leading gaming architects TBE Architects.
The new 126,700 square foot casino, that has 1,500 slot machines, opened without the fanfare of a traditional casino opening, except for a tribal blessing and a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Most tribal members were encouraged to watch the ceremony from home.
Tribal Chairwoman Teri Gobin commented, “We are so excited that we are finally able to open up this building to offer a beautiful venue to our community and to our people.”
She added, “What is so important is that we are an economic force for the whole county. The feeder businesses — the businesses that will grow around this area because of the different economic activities we’ve done — that is what really counts, because it keeps our whole community economically healthy.”
Tulalip Gaming Organization COO Ken Kettler added, “We’re pleased with the extra we’ve been able to put on top of what was already a great success.”
The new facility has 500 more slots than the original, plus a seven-restaurant dining hall, and an entertainment venue that seats 189. No word yet on what will be done with the old hall, although requests and proposals have been made for it.
Construction began in 2017 but a dispute with the original contract pushed the opening back from 2019 to this year.
The casino will operate at 50 percent capacity until the pandemic is over, say tribal officials.
