On August 11, Pascua Yaqui Chairman Peter Yucupicio threw the first dice at a new craps table at Casino Del Sol. The casino was the second in Arizona to offer Las Vegas style table games, after the Wild Horse Pass Casino.
Tribal casinos can offer craps, roulette and mini-baccarat after Governor Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2772 into law in April.
Yucupicio told Inside Tucson Business, “All the Arizona tribes started about this about six or seven years ago trying to figure out what we needed to do,” Yucupicio said. “Once all the tribes sat down with the governor and hammered out all the benefits, not only to us but to the state, the process went pretty quickly.”
He added, “We are hoping this is very successful and helps our tribe and all of the other tribes throughout the country who are doing this now or are trying to. We fought for our right to have table games,” Yucupicio said. “I think people don’t understand a lot of this benefits our people. We can educate more and help seniors who suffered through the pandemic. I think it’s a blessing how we can provide more.”
Tribal casinos pay between 1 percent and 8 percent of annual gaming revenue to the states and nearby municipalities.
The casino will add more craps, roulette and mini-baccarat tables if they turn out to be popular with the public, said Yucupicio.
