At least four Inland Empire casinos are raising the stakes with the
addition of casino floor space, hotel rooms and at least 3,350 new jobs.
Las Vegas casinos remained unconcerned.
Pechanga Resort and Casino held a soft opening of its expanded casino on
Nov. 10. Pechanga added more than 400,000 square feet of gaming,
nightclub and parking space. Pechanga hired 1,500 workers. The
800-member Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians owns and operates the
Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula.
Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio will hire 250 workers to
staff its $200 million, 12-story hotel and 100,000 square-foot events
center slated to open Dec. 21. The casino is owned and operated by the
30-member Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. The casino will employ 1,800
workers by 2007, Chief Executive Officer James McKennon said.
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CariÑO Casas / The Business Press
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Pete Eimer, project safety manager for Casino
Morongo, shows off the buffet area.
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San Manuel Bingo and Casino will open its 465,000-square-foot,
$200-million expansion in Highland in January. San Manuel plans to hire
200 to 300 workers.
Casino Morongo held a dedication ceremony Nov. 10 for its $250 million,
23-story hotel 44-acre expansion . The Morongo Band of Mission Indians
has 900 members and owns and operates Casino Morongo in Cabazon.
The expansion of Casino Morongo is part of a plan to target gamblers as
young as 21, general manager Bill Davis said in a September interview.
"I don't think the younger crowd is missed by our competitors; I think
it's missed by us," Davis said. The expansion will help Casino Morongo
keep Southern California gamblers from venturing to Las Vegas.
"About 70,000 cars pass by us here on the Interstate 10. About 10% to
15% of our business comes from people who just drop in. We hope to
increase that number," Davis said. The new Morongo casino will handle 5
million customers, double what it handled last year.
While California casinos are expanding by leaps and bounds, "Las Vegas
doesn't fear the competition," said Bill Thompson, a professor of public
administration at University of Las Vegas.
Not a threat
California Native American casinos compete with each other and not so
much with Las Vegas, Thompson said.
California casinos "look like Las Vegas casinos and are as big with
their games inside, but the distinguishing factor is that their hotels
are smaller and this reflects that they serve weekenders and not actual
tourists who are on vacation for more than a couple of days," Thompson
said.
Las Vegas resorts have 3,000 rooms or more while California casinos
average 300 to 800 rooms, a clear sign that they are targeting
weekenders and day-trip tourists, he said. Las Vegas casinos are
complacent about Indian casinos stealing tourists from Nevada, Thompson
said.
"Indian casinos target a different demographic: the lower-middle-class
to less-affluent gamblers who are looking to gamble for a day," he said.
"Las Vegas casinos target upper-middle-class to upper-affluent gamblers."
On average, Las Vegas tourists stay more than three nights and spend
more than $500.
"We want to draw new overnight customers to the Coachella Valley from
Los Angeles and Orange County," McKennon said. "The addition of the
events center, restaurants and entertainment venues was a natural
evolution for [Fantasy Springs] casino."
Tribal casinos compete with each other for local weekend gamblers and
not with Las Vegas casinos. Las Vegas tends to draw the four-day gambler
who is willing to spend $150 a night on a hotel room and shop, dine and
gamble for more than just a couple of days. That's the different type of
tourist Las Vegas attracts, Thompson said.
"Products in Las Vegas go far beyond just gaming. Developers expanded
Las Vegas offerings to encompass more than just gambling, that's why we
are known as culinary and shopping capitals for tourists," said Erika
Yowell, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority spokeswoman.
Only 15% of tourists who visit Las Vegas come for the gambling, Yowell
said. "The number one reason tourists are lured to Las Vegas is the
activities that include fine dining, resorts and golf courses."
Tribal gaming nationwide generated $16.7 billion in revenue in 2003 and
created 500,000 jobs, according to the National Indian Gaming
Association, a trade group in Washington, DC.
California has more gaming tribes than any other state, with 43
currently hosting some form of gambling according to a University of
California Berkeley report.
California gaming revenue grew 17.2% in 2002 from $2.92 billion in 2001
to $3.43 billion in 2002 according to the UCBerkeley report.
In 2002, a total 35,071,504 million tourists, of which 29% were
Californians, visited Las Vegas and spent $32.8 billion. Last year Las
Vegas set a new record, attracting 35.5 million tourists, of which 32%
were Californians.
By the end of 2004, more than 37.5 million tourists will visit Las
Vegas, smashing last year's record, Yowell predicted.
