Las Vegas firm in pact for California Indian casino

David Strow

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

A Las Vegas casino consulting company, headed by the daughter of a Las Vegas gaming legend, has signed a pact to develop an Indian casino 23 miles southeast of Palm Springs, Calif.

Paragon Gaming Holding Co. will develop and manage the 700-slot casino for the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians. The property will be the sixth casino in the Palm Springs area, and should open by mid-2002. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"We'll be a little different than the other Indian casinos in the area," said Paragon President Diana Bennett. "We will focus more on a locals-oriented casino, because now there are quite a few residents that live there year-round. Since we're not right on the highway (Interstate 10), we're going to offer a little more intimate atmosphere, an excellent restaurant, a very locals-oriented slot club."

Bennett is the daughter of long-time casino executive Bill Bennett, now the owner of the Sahara hotel-casino. Diana Bennett's career includes stints as general manager of the Sahara, general manager of the Colorado Belle and Edgewater, both in Jean, and president and chief operating officer of Casino Data Systems. Bennett founded Paragon with former Circus Circus Enterprises executive Scott Menke two years ago.

The company's most serious previous attempt to open a casino came in the Los Angeles area. Earlier this year Paragon proposed building a 2,000-slot, 250-room hotel-casino at Channel Islands Harbor, located near the city of Oxnard. There is no Indian reservation land there, but the Paragon proposal contemplated placing 10 acres of land at the harbor and placing it under trust for a tribe's use.

Ventura County officials rejected the proposal in May, and Paragon walked away. Similar problems aren't expected with Riverside County and Coachella Valley city officials.

"They're already very familiar with gaming in the area ... we don't predict we'll have any problems (with approvals)," Bennett said.

The cost of the Coachella Valley casino has yet to be disclosed. Funds will be provided by Centaur Inc., a privately held concern from Indianapolis. Centaur formerly held a 13.5 percent position in Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind. It sold this position to the riverboat's majority shareholder, Argosy Gaming Co., earlier this year for $105 million.

Centaur also owns part of Hoosier Park, a racetrack 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis in the city of Anderson, Ind.

Centaur will provide equity financing for future projects, Bennett said, including several Indian casinos planned for the Canadian province of Alberta. Bennett said Paragon is working with the provincial government and the First Nations tribes of Alberta on regulations that would permit tribes to operate casinos in Alberta; Paragon expects to open its first casinos there sometime in 2003.

Plans call for the ultimate development of tribal casinos near the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.