Idaho tourist officials applaud tribe’s $12 million, 92-room casino

Monday, Nov. 13, 2000 | 10:51 a.m.

"I wanted it to look like it belonged in Idaho and it belonged to a Native American tribe," said Dave Matheson, head of gaming operations for the Coeur d'Alenes. "There's a lot of wood, a lot of stone, some of our geometric designs. Not overly rustic and not overly glitzy."

The tribe is counting on the 92-room hotel to keep visitors in Worley. The casino also will feature a golf course, which delights tourist officials.

"From a regional standpoint, I don't think it can do anything but good," said Nancy DiGiammarco, marketing director at Silverwood theme park. "I see a lot more tour operators bring buses here because they will have a hotel."

The golf course will be built behind the casino complex and should open in 2002. By that time, another 100 rooms will have been added to the hotel.

"Three practice holes and a driving range will open next year," Matheson said. "If it doesn't rain a lot in November we can actually start work on that now."

Matheson expects a quiet opening for the hotel to take place around Dec. 15. That will allow time before a January grand opening to make sure that phones, plumbing, reservation systems and everything else works smoothly, he said.

The tribe plans to hire about 30 people to work at the hotel.

The resort project was cast in doubt last spring, when state legislation made way for a lawsuit that could jeopardize the tribe's right to operate video slot machines. Although that uncertainty eliminated the chance of getting financing for the entire project, Matheson said, tribal leaders decided to build in pay-as-you-go phases.