The Pendleton-based tribal gaming facility will add a hotel tower, convention center and banquet kitchen.
The Wildhorse Resort & Casino, the gaming center outside of Pendleton operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, plans to build a $100 million expansion.
The Eastern Oregon tribal gaming center hopes to draw larger business events, weddings and other gatherings, according to a tribal announcement sent Tuesday. The “Next Level” project features a 10-story hotel tower, a 1,500-capacity convention center and a new restaurant with banquet facilities.
“We want to create more memorable experiences through forward-thinking investments in areas that impact our guests as soon as they walk in our doors,” Gary E. George, CEO of Wildhorse Resort & Casino, writes in the statement. “A consistent, high-quality casino experience is the difference for consumers and the region.”
The federally recognized tribe has operated the casino near Interstate 84 five miles east of Pendleton since 1994. The tribe took over management of the casino from a gaming company in 1999 and has upgraded the facility every year since. Recent additions include an 18-hole Golf Course at Birch Creek, a 24-lane bowling alley and the western wear and saddle shop Hamley & Co. A Family FunPlex offers 30 arcade games, a five-screen cinema and a food court with four eateries. The Next Level project is the largest since the casino’s hotel was completed in 2011 for $45 million.
The tribe holds a Class III gaming license with the state which allows it to operate traditional slot machines and live-dealer table games. It maintains 1,100 slots, 14 table games, live keno and a poker room. Its compact with the state also requires gaming tribes to cover “reasonable costs of necessary street, road, or highway improvements” related to gaming facilities. The agreement also allows the tribe to host off-site sports betting but tribal reps have called the small-margin business opportunity unattractive, according to Casino.org.
The project is intended to enhance the casino’s “Las Vegas-style gaming experience.” A new hotel tower — to be built on a site once occupied by the Courtyard Hotel — will feature 214 rooms ranging from standard to luxury and executive suites. It will more than double the facility’s lodging capacity. The restaurant will offer guests three-meal dining and space to accommodate large-scale kitchen operations. The addition of 15,000 square feet of convention and event space will triple the facility’s current capacity.
The Next Level project is scheduled to conclude in 2027.
All but one of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes operate a casino.
In January, the Coquille Indian Tribe received federal permission to operate a 30,000 square-foot casino near Medford, capping a 13-year regulatory battle.
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