LV designer in Calif. Indian casino pact

Tuesday, March 14, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Las Vegas casino designer Mark Advent struck a pact with a Northern California tribe to develop and operate a $100 million casino 70 miles north of San Francisco.

Located in Sonoma County near the 101 Freeway, the casino will be complete in fall 2001. Advent said the 175,000-square-foot property will be able to hold up to 2,000 slot machines and 50 table games. The property will be owned by the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians.

Advent Communications and Entertainment has agreed to provide $30 million in equity to the project, and will help arrange about $70 million in debt financing, Advent said.

The casino will be nestled in a ravine, and marked by a 80-foot waterfall near the entrance. "Our facility will have a very Frank Lloyd Wright sensibility to it," Advent said. "We are committed to making this one of the more beautiful locations in California."

Advent's best-known project in Las Vegas is the New York-New York hotel-casino, but this agreement marks the first time his company has signed an agreement to manage a property. However, Advent said he plans to announce a partnership with a "publicly traded gaming company" within 30 days to handle operation of the casino.