A new two lane roundabout intersection near Interstate 5 being built near Tulalip, Washington, not far from Tacoma, will serve the expanded Quil Ceda Creek Casino, cutting down on congestion and providing a straight through gate to the reservation.
Construction on the roundabout is expected to be finished by January.
The new $370 million casino, called the Emerald Queen Casino, is under construction across the street from the existing casino. It is twice the size of the old one 110,000 square feet and will open in 2018. The old casino will shut down and eventually be demolished.
The tribe became a gaming operator with the Emerald Queen riverboat in 1996, which sailed from the Mississippi River, through the Panama Canal and up to Puget Sound at Tacoma.
In 2002 it built a bingo hall, at the site of the current facility.
The tribe always wanted a mega-casino. However, tribal leaders didn’t jump at the chance when developers approached them with plans because they wanted the new casino to be developed and operated completely by the tribe. They balked at sharing 40 percent of earnings with an outside casino company.
It will have dining, buffet style, upscale and a café, and two bars. One bar will have a spectacular view of Mount Rainier, while the other will look out onto downtown Tacoma.
The casino will use tribal art and designs. The project includes a 2,000 seat events center that will suggest an Indian long house, the traditional residence of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. Exterior panels will suggest basket weaving.
Tribal council member Conor McCarthy praised the design. “I’m so impressed that this is going to happen in our city,” he said. “Make it as big and bright and beautiful and sparkly as possible because we need it. And as much bling as possible.”
The tribe and the city of Tacoma are enjoying “outstanding” cooperation over the casino, a contrast to the sour relations of 15 years ago, when the city opposed the original casino in the middle of the city.
Eventually a $65 million hotel with up to 200 rooms, will rise up next to the new casino in the second phase of construction, expected to be finished by 2020.
Now city officials see the casino as assisting tourism and providing job opportunities to 2,000 people, a good thing given the expanding population of the Puget Sound area. It will be highly visible from Interstate 5.
