Published April 2001

Skagit casino expands
to offer resort perks

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

The $28 million, Las Vegas-style Skagit Valley Casino opened north of Mount Vernon in 1995, offering the members of the Upper Skagit Tribe a lucrative alternative to their traditional fishing and logging pursuits. Last month, an $11 million, 103-room hotel and conference center opened at the casino, transforming the facility into a regional recreation resort destination.

Part of the new conference center includes a 450-seat theater with a state-of-the-art sound system and lighting that can be used for convention presentations or entertainment performances. In August, an additional 3,200 square feet of meeting and convention space will be finished, and by September, there will be an indoor pool, sauna, spa and exercise room.

And site development already has begun on the next resort attraction: an 18-hole, 7,240-yard, par-72 championship golf course, clubhouse and driving range. Also woven into near-term plans is a service station, convenience store and fast-food restaurant near I-5’s exit 236 at Bow Hill Road, less than 200 feet from the entrance to the resort.

Once just one of several Indian reservation casinos in the Northwest, the Upper Skagit Tribe’s gaming facility at Bow, halfway between Everett and Bellingham, is becoming the region’s newest destination resort, General Manager Don Guglielmino said. Designed by Van Lom & Co. of Portland, Ore., the hotel was built by Bellingham’s Exxel Pacific.

Although there’s practically zero development in the immediate vicinity of the resort, which is surrounded by woods, fields and mountain views, the 600-member Upper Skagit Tribe has created a thriving commercial enterprise on its 385 acres in the rural Skagit County countryside. Today, about 30 of the tribe are among the 420 people employed at the resort, but it’s revenues, not simply jobs, that the tribe wants.

“Because the tribe decided not to feature their Native American ancestry in the casino’s décor, it’s the most authentic Las Vegas-style casino in the Northwest,” Guglielmino said. “That’s been a great draw for us. But now we’ll have conference business, tourists traveling I-5, people coming for our entertainment shows and staying over in our hotel. It’s going to be a great getaway destination, business conference site and vacation spot.”

Located midway between two of the region’s most popular destinations for conferences and tourism — Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia — the casino resort is ideally sited to attract large numbers of visitors, he said.

“We’re evolving into a major entertainment resort destination, not just gaming. Later, after the golf course is opened around mid-2002, there are also plans for a clubhouse and condominiums,” he said.

He said the Upper Skagit Tribe has ample room at the site to duplicate the new 103-room hotel wing on the other side of the casino, doubling its lodging space and adding more meeting area when the demand grows.

Guglielmino, who has 19 years of experience in the gaming industry and previously was at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, knows a good casino when he sees one, which is why he’s enthused about the transformation of the popular Skagit Valley Casino into a destination casino resort.

“With the hotel and conference rooms, we can target a market we couldn’t focus on before, such as meetings, conventions and tourism,” he said. “A lot of people will come for the casino, then stay overnight before going home. Both Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., are major markets for us — although one of our top markets right now is Everett, Marysville and Snohomish County.”

He’s also seeing interest from the state’s second-largest city, Spokane, noting that the Skagit Valley Casino offers a more Vegas-style experience than casinos in the Spokane and Coeur ‘d Alene area, as well as local attractions that encourage getaway trips for people throughout the state.

Because the tribe didn’t have the expertise to run a casino on its own when it opened in 1995, tribal leaders signed a management contract with Harrah’s casino in Las Vegas. By November 1998, however, the tribe had its own seasoned staff and ended the Harrah’s contract. Today, people in key positions at the casino have many years of Nevada gaming experience.

More information about the Skagit Valley Casino Resort is available by contacting Guglielmino, 360-724-0101, dgug@svcasinoresort.com; Public Relations/Entertainment Coordinator Michele Vander Mey, 360-724-0148, michelevm@svcasinoresort.com; toll-free at 1-877-2SKAGIT; or by visiting the resort’s Web site, www.svcasinoresort.com.

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