On July 9, 2007, after years of waiting, the Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority finally held their groundbreaking ceremony.
When completed, the casino will be the closest gaming facility to Seattle and the first of its kind located on the Eastside. The Casino Snoqualmie is located on 56 acres of land on the I-90 at Exit 27, which is just 26 miles east of Seattle.
With a 170,000 gaming space, the Casino Snoqualmie facility will offer 52 casino table games, 17 poker tables and 1,650 electronic gaming machines as well as a convention facility with a 1,000 seating capacity, an entertainment club which can accommodate 200 people, five restaurants, four pubs, a cigar lounge and a parking space that can accommodate 2,000 cars.
The casino project, which is worth $235 million, is scheduled to open to the public by 2008 and is expected to offer 900 job opportunities.
Michael Barozzi, the CEO of Casino Snoqualmie and the Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority commented that the gambling casino will be sole source of entertainment on the Eastside, offering entertainment to residents throughout the region.
Just earlier this year, the Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority, together with the Bear Stearns and the Guggenheim Capital Markets, LLC, accomplished a $330 million financing for their land purchased and the building and the grand opening of the Casino Snoqualmie facility.
This was the biggest bond offering in tribal gambling operations. The Snoqualmie Tribal Head, Jerry Enick, said that the start of the construction project of the casino is just another step for the Snoqualmie Tribe in ensuring the future of the tribe.
The Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority has hired Bergman, Walls and Associates, which designed the Mirage, Treasure Island and other world class casino facilities especially in the Las Vegas strip. The general contractor for the project is the Skanska USA Building.
The tribe has been working hard for many years to build an entertainment facility to help the Snoqualmie tribe's economy. Back in 2001, the tribe asked the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the land for the casino under trust.
After that, the tribe worked with the City of Snoqualmie to remodel the water and sewage line as well as make the emergency management plans. The tribe received federal approval last March 2006 following the Bureau of Indian Affairs' move to place the Snoqualmie land under trust.
07/22/2007 22:59 PM
Ann Pettersson