Construction is underway on a $140 million casino resort, which will replace the aging Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Washington State and remain under the operation and management of Tulalip Tribes.
Michael Greene, media relations specialist for Tulalip Tribes, told the Courier that once complete the new 120,000-square-foot Quil Ceda Creek Casino Hotel will feature a much larger gaming floor that will include up to 1,500 slot machines.
鈥淚t鈥檚 being constructed across the street on 15 acres and will include a state-of-the-art smoke filtration system, five or six dining options and a food court,鈥� Greene told the Courier during a phone interview March 12.
Known as QCC2, the new casino resort on Northeast 33rd Avenue is expected to be complete by the spring of 2019, will include 150 guest rooms, expanded banquet capacity, charging stations for electric cars and will accommodate 1,900 vehicles, including a 1,200 stall covered parking garage.
The hotel will also feature a VIP/business lounge, coffee bar, additional special event and meeting facilities with a catering kitchen, show room and recreation space that includes a pool, spa and exercise room. According to a press release, the innovative design of the new hotel 鈥渁ccommodates potential future expansion.鈥� The Tulalip Tribe is also investing in street improvements to enhance ease of access to the new casino resort.
鈥淭his is exciting because it was the first casino on the reservation and the second in Washington State,鈥� says Greene.
The Tulalip Tribes signed that contract in 1993, later built the Tulalip Resort Casino in 2004, and then added a 12-story hotel at Quil Ceda Village in 2008. The Q, as it's known, is considered the "local" casino, while the Tulalip Resort Casino draws in visitors from Canada and out of state.
Greene says a recent news report about the potential construction of a massive water park on Tulalip land was slightly premature.
鈥�15-years ago, it was on the minds of the [Tulalip] board and it still is,鈥� says Greene. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 in the early stage.鈥�
Last week Les Parks, treasurer of the tribe鈥檚 board of directors, told KIRO7 news the tribe is in the midst of a feasibility study for a year-round indoor water park roughly the size of Wild Waves Theme and Water Park near Seattle.
"It would be bigger than anything we have in the northwest corner of the country,鈥� Parks told KIRO7.
And unlike the proposal in 2004 to build a water park in partnership with a California-based company, this time Tulalip Tribes plans to own and operate it on their own.
The 22,000-acre Tulalip Indian Reservation is located north of Everett and the Snohomish River and west of Marysville, WA. The Quil Ceda Creek Casino Hotel is located about three miles from the Tulalip Resort Casino.
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