Operator News
US – Gila River Indian Community to build its fourth casino in Phoenix
By Phil - 1 July 2021
The Gila River Indian Community will build its fourth casino on land south of Chandler in Phoenix as part of the Arizona Native American tribes’ recently agreed tribal compact with the state with an opening envisioned within two years.
The tribe already runs casinos at Wild Horse Pass and Lone Butte in Chandler and Vee Quiva in Laveen. It will spend more than $100m on the new casino which could eventually include a hotel and employ 1,000 people.
Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis said: “Adding the fourth casino will bring additional revenue, security, and critical services to Community members. In addition, we anticipate being able to add hundreds of new jobs that Community members can take advantage of, and we expect that many of those will be filled by community members, just as was the case at the Vee Quiva Casino located in District 6.”
The negotiations with the state and Arizona gaming tribes occurred over a five-year period culminating in an effective Amended and Restated Compact in May of 2021. A critical term in the Amended and Restated Compact between the GRIC and State of Arizona is a fourth casino for the GRIC. The GRIC gave up its fourth casino in the 2002 gaming compact, based on the promise that there would be no new casinos in the Phoenix metro area. The promise was broken and the GRIC fought hard to ensure that they could reclaim their right to be a fourth casino as part of these recent negotiations.
The GRIC has announced that preparations are underway to construct a fourth casino. The preparations currently include hiring an architect to design the casino and preparing the selected site for construction. The site selected in District 4 is located on GRIC trust land south of the junction of Gilbert Road and Hunt Highway. The GRIC estimates it will take 18-24 months to design and construct the fourth casino.
“The Gila River Indian Community has been engaged in negotiations for years with the state regarding an Amended and Restated Compact,” said Stephen Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community. “Adding a fourth casino will bring additional revenue, security, and critical services to Community members. I hope you will join us in celebrating this historic news.”
Caption: Lone Butte in Chandler
