Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe revives casino proposition

In the western American state of Arizona and the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe has reportedly resurrected a plan that is to see it bring a new tribal casino to a small eastern corner of its 1,413-acre reservation.

According to a May 25 report from the Navajo-Hopi Observer newspaper, the federally-recognized tribe first floated the idea of building a fresh gambling-friendly venue as a replacement for its existing Bucky’s Casino and Yavapai Casino properties in 2014. Although this scheme ultimately went nowhere, the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe has now purportedly revived the proposal in order to be better able to serve the nearby ‘quad city’ communities of Prescott, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt and Prescott Valley.

Accessible area:

The newspaper reported that the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in planning to locate its envisioned casino on a twelve-acre piece of land situated about two miles from the center of Prescott and across the street from its existing Frontier Village Center shopping plaza. Although further specific details regarding the project remain scarce, the tribe could purportedly also be hoping that the convenient site alongside a stretch of Arizona State Route 69 will allow the new property to appeal to gamblers in cities as distant as Flagstaff and Phoenix, which sit some 93 and 98 miles away respectively.

Rapid review:

The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe reportedly used an official press release to declare that development on the ‘first phase’ of its coming Yavapai County casino is scheduled to begin later this month and consist of ‘soil tests and other preliminary site work’ carried out by its general contractor for the project, Kitchell Incorporated. The tribe’s President, Bob Ogo, purportedly proclaimed that ‘the gaming market in Arizona is changing’ and that the addition of another gambling property will allow the group to ‘prepare for the future.’

Reportedly read a statement from Ogo…

“Our two existing casinos have served the ‘quad-city’ market for over 25 years. These casinos have provided secure and well-paying jobs for over 300 local employees, many of whom have been with us for over 20 years, as well as funded many worthy non-tribal charitable and civic community projects from the tribe’s gaming revenues for the past 20 years that have benefited Prescott Valley and surrounding communities.”

Preceding proposition:

The earlier plan from the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe had called for the construction of a 50,000 sq ft facility featuring an 80-room hotel, conference spaces, a restaurant and a state-of-the-art casino featuring as many as 566 slots and 90 gaming tables. This $80 million development for the same site as its successor had originally been due to open towards the end of 2016 following a little over a year of construction.