$215M Gila River hotel/casino opens Friday

A $215 million chunk of Las Vegas will land in the East Valley on Friday when the Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino opens on the Gila River Indian Community at Interstate 10 and Wild Horse Pass Boulevard.

Gaming officials said the 10-floor tower is the largest hotel/casino in Arizona, featuring 1,002 slot machines, 71 gaming tables, a separate nonsmoking gambling area, five lounges and a nightclub offering live and recorded entertainment. It also boasts a 1,400-seat showroom, fast-food court, an Asian bar and grill, the upscale Don Shula's Steak House and 242 hotel rooms.

"This is the first Las Vegas-style resort/casino in the Valley and Chandler's first nightclub district," said Harold Baugus, chief executive of Gila River Gaming Enterprises.

Work crews were still scurrying about Tuesday putting finishing touches on the interior and installing landscaping around the exterior, but Gila River officials promised that most of the complex will be finished by the public opening at 9 p.m. Friday. Only the Airia nightclub scheduled to open on Nov. 13 will remain to be completed, they said.

The resort has already booked several big-name entertainers for its 1,400-seat Ovations LIVE! Showroom, including LeAnn Rimes on Nov. 7, Jay Leno on Nov. 20 and Paul Rodriguez on Dec. 12.

Also Shula, the legendary NFL coach of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins team, will appear at a charity event for the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley in November, Baugus said.

The steak house is the 27th in Shula's restaurant chain and only the second in the western U.S. Among its attractions are menu items printed on official NFL footballs.

In addition to providing an entertainment center for the Valley, the resort figures to make a major economic impact on the Gila River Indian Community. The complex will initially employ about 1,300 people, of which about 37 percent are tribal members, Baugus said. Also most of the artwork in the hotel and casino was produced by tribal members.

The casino/resort is both owned and operated by the tribe, which is unusual because most Indian casinos in Arizona are operated by outside management companies, he said.

Gila River Gaming Enterprises embarked on the project in 2005, when the economy was still flying high. Now it's opening in the middle of a major economic slump with Indian gaming revenue down about 9.4 percent from last year, according to the Arizona Department of Gaming. But Baugus said the tribe is taking a long-term view.

"The community looks for a long-term economic advantage that will provide benefits from the (state gaming) compact for the next 18 years," he said.

The complex aims to attract customers primarily from the local Valley market, but the tribe also hopes to draw customers from around the state who will stay at the hotel as well as gamble and enjoy the entertainment offerings, he said.

Room rates will vary depending on the season, the day of the week and whether a big-name entertainer is playing, but $99-a-night introductory deals through Dec. 31 were being advertised Tuesday at the wingilariver.com Web site.

The casino replaces the former Wild Horse Pass Casino nearby, which closed on Monday. But the separate Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa, also owned by the Gila River Indian Community, will continue to operate under Sheraton Hotel management.