West Valley casino opens Sunday

Representatives of the Tohono O’odham Nation, owners and operators of the venue, led reporters on a tour of the 50,000 square-foot gaming floor Tuesday, including features and amenities they believe will provide a gaming experience rivaled by few Arizona casinos.

“We want our guests to have a high-quality gaming experience, and we’ve worked hard to ensure that, from the selection of games to ticket redemption sites throughout the floor to the chairs and wide aisles,” said Treena Parvello, the Nation’s director of public relations.

Among the 1,089 different slot machines are dozens of varieties, selected through extensive market research, said Don Ayers, director of slots for the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, the tribe’s gaming arm.

“You will most likely find your favorite game in here,” said Parvello.

Ayers worked with slot machine companies to produce an array of easily recognizable, popular games.

“Our goal was to ensure we had the full gaming experience with the space we had available,” Parvello said.

One feature the Nation is particularly happy with are the sites for redeeming gaming tickets.

“We have in each quadrant, redemption stations, so you don’t have to go looking for a way to cash in your tickets; they’re all over the place,” said Ayers.

Another item the slots manager and his crew went to great lengths on is the chairs. Ayers described them as custom-made at a height and style that matches where a patron feels most comfortable sitting. For example, a wider bottom, wider backs and a cushion he said is firm enough so user doesn’t sink in without feeling hard. The aisles in between the rows of slots are 2-3 feet wider than in most casinos, he said, to assist those who find it difficult to get around, such as the disabled.

“There’s really no stone we didn’t leave unturned to try to make sure the guest experience is above and beyond anything they’ve ever run across,” he said.

Sunday’s opening will be preceded by remarks from several dignitaries, including Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-3rd Dist. The southwestern Arizona congressman has been one of the project’s most vocal supporters. Parking for the casino is located on both the south and east sides of the building. Patrons can access that parking from Glendale Avenue by turning onto 95th Avenue, next to Cabela's, and proceeding about three-quarters of a mile to the casino property entrance.

Built on former agricultural land between 91st and 95th avenues south of Northern Avenue just outside Glendale, the venue occupies about a third of the space within a 150,000 square foot structure that also houses employee facilities, administrative offices, power infrastructure and storage. The $200 million building is the first of what eventually is planned for three phases and will include a hotel, conference center, spa, restaurants and bars and more gaming space.

The opening phase of the casino will include a food court, with a menu of salads, sandwiches and hamburgers. However, with the venue less than a mile from Glendale's Westgate Entertainment District, numerous dining and drinking establishments are a few minute's drive.

"Our focus for this facility was to have a gaming experience that included food with the limited space we have," Parvello explained.

Tohono O'odham leaders are still deciding a construction schedule for the remaining phases. For now, their focus is establishing the gaming venue, the West Valley's first.

"This facility needs to get up and on its feet," she said.