Tohono O’odham Nation Starts Construction On New Desert Diamond Casino Building

Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, which is owned and operated by the Tohono O’odham Nation, has officially begun construction on the $450 million casino-resort project of Arizona’s fifth Desert Diamond Casino, found close to Loop 303 and Northern Parkway near West Glendale.

Layout of the first phase of the project:

The new casino-resort project is 10 miles from the Desert Diamond Casino-West Valley location.

Furthermore, the construction will take nearly 19 months, according to officials.

Looking back, the official opening of the casino will be somewhere near the end of 2024 for the first phase. The first phase will involve:

• 184,000-square foot casino floor;
• 900 slot machines;
• 30 table games, involving blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat;
• poker room with 12 tables;
• sportsbook;
• a fine dining restaurant;
• a casual restaurant;
• a four-venue food hall;

Additional phases will involve a hotel and event space, according to what Mike Bean, Chief Executive Officer of Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

As soon as all phases of the casino-resort are finished, 1,300 jobs are predicted to be created.

Location:

The casino-resort will be located on 110 acres of land held by the federal government in trust for the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Moreover, the tribe is permitted to extend over a land settlement that was made in the 1980s and can change nearly 10,000 acres of land that was flooded when the Painted Rock Dam was constructed in 1960.

On that note, Jose Reyna, president of San Lucy District, the county where the flood occurred and president of the land where the tribe is permitted to expand, became sensitive as he spoke about the plight of the people in his district since the dam.

He said: “We just got relocated without much. The community just picked up and moved. I cannot say we are flourishing to the fullest, we are still working to get where we need to be, but this is a huge step forward. We had to go through some bad things to get to some really great things.”

About:

Headquartered in Arizona, Desert Diamond Casinos are owned and managed by the Tohono O’odham Nation.

The casinos hire more than 1,200 Native American and non-Native American people. They offer funding for community services both on and off the Nation and collect millions of dollars in state tax profit.

Desert Diamond Casinos are currently open in 4 locations in Arizona: Sahuarita, Tucson, Why and West Valley.

Services from the casinos involve unrivaled gaming options, fine dining, Monsoon Nightclub, world-class sporting events, music performances and comedy at the Diamond Center.