Washington casino opening delayed

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 4:07 a.m.

The $29 million Northern Quest Casino was to open Tuesday, but delays in clearing all regulatory hurdles pushed the opening back, spokeswoman Marianne Guenther said Wednesday.

"We're making sure everything is ready to go," Guenther said.

The casino might open later in the week, she said.

The 53,000-square-foot casino culminates a four-year effort to provide an economic engine for the 300-member tribe's social service and education programs.

Tribal officials expect the casino to do well because it is less than 10 miles west of Spokane, the state's second-largest city in a county of more than 400,000 people.

The tribe's 4,600-acre reservation hugs 10 miles of the Pend Oreille River in northeastern Washington.

In 1996, the tribe bought 40 acres near an Airway Heights car race track and moved to designate it as reservation land.

In 1998, Gov. Gary Locke agreed with the secretary of the interior that the project was in the tribe's best interest, clearing the way for the casino, about 65 miles south of the reservation.

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