Northwestern U.S. residents will soon have access to one of the finest entertainment venues in the region. Scheduled to open in the Fall of 2008, Casino Snoqualmie will be the closest tribal casino to the city of Seattle, and the first casino ever built on the Eastside. With construction now commencing on the $235 million project, the Snoqualmie Tribe can rest assured their dream for a brighter economic future is well on its way.

A dream that began in 2001 back when the tribe first approached the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to place designated land in trust as federal reservation land, the Snoqualmie's have been steadily working to meet all regulatory requirements, which has included installing improved sewer and water piping and drawing out emergency management plans for the City of Snoqualmie. In March of 2006, federal approval designating the land as a federal reservation was given by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Following approval, the Snoqualmie's have been busy securing financing and designing the casino, which is expected to generate approximately 900 jobs. Financing was secured by the Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority for the purchase of the land and casino construction costs in early 2007 in the amount of $330 million, which happens to be the largest bond offering ever given to a gaming project undertaken by a tribe for the first time.

Considering the scope of the project, it shouldn't be surprising that financing was obtained. Casino Snoqualmie is being designed by Bergman, Walls & Associates, which is the same firm that designed The Mirage, Golden Nugget Casino, Paris in Las Vegas and Treasure Island. Construction is being outsourced to Skanska USA Building, which has done work on the MGM Grand, Foxwoods and Greektown Casino. As for the interior design, the Snoqualmie Entertainment Authority could not have picked better designers. Yates Silverman, who for over forty years has designed interiors for casinos like Caesars Palace, New York Casino and Paris Las Vegas, will be laying out the floors for Snoqualmie Casino.

The 170,000 square foot structure will house a 200 seat cabaret/nightclub, a 1,000 seat event center and a casino offering fifty-two table games, 17 additional poker tables and 1,650 video machines. As mentioned, Snoqualmie Casino will be the closest gaming site to Seattle, Washington. Just twenty-six miles away, the 56 acre site is located just off Interstate 90 at Exit 27.