In the intensely competitive Indian casino market of Southern it is sometimes hard to fathom the calculations that lead to certain decisions.
For example, while the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto is moving towards opening its new 200-room casino and hotel the first quarter of next year, not too far away Pala Casino Spa & Resort in north San Diego County has pulled the rug on a previously announced hotel tower.
Soboba was among the last of the large Indian casinos to add a hotel to make it a full-blown resort. It is building on a new property of 37.5 acres a mile from the existing facility. The new gaming floor, larger than the entire original property, will host 2,000 slots and 32 tables. Plus 22,000 square feet of dining. The 200-room hotel will have a conference center, pool, bar and fitness center.
But it was one amidst many that were expanding, including Pala.
Recently San Manuel Casino broke ground on a $550 million expansion, which will be done in phases, while Pechanga Resort & Casino, the largest Indian casino on the West Coast, opened its new hotel tower last December.
Last October Pala announced its $170 million expansion, only to slam on the brakes on the hotel expansion, citing “movement in the market,” and also the other casino expansions. In a statement the tribe added, “We are still deciding with the new tower when to start building and how much to build.”
Other expansions are opening at Pala, including a pool complex, outdoor bar and lounge, an expanded non-smoking casino area and reworked restaurant and bar.
At the end of the summer the tribe plans to look at the new hotel tower again and decide whether to go for it.
