Gambling expansion proceeds in three states

Daisy Nguyen

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

TEMECULA, Calif. -- The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians has come a long way since 1995, when it first welcomed gamblers to a casino made of tents and vinyl-sided trailers.

That humble facility has been transformed into a deluxe $262 million resort and casino that opened Monday. The band is betting it will become a major tourist destination and boost for the local economy.

With a 14-story hotel, restaurants, convention space, ballroom and theater -- all decorated with ancient rock art -- the facility will be the largest Indian casino in the western United States. It boasts 2,000 slot machines, and an 18-hole golf course is in the works.

A sovereign government, the tribe has raised the legal gambling age from 18 to 21 to be able to serve alcohol on the gaming floor.

The casino has amenities comparable to anything on the Las Vegas Strip and it lifts tribal gaming to a new level of sophistication that could have other Indian tribes following suit, experts said.

"It's a risky investment, but it's an investment for the future," said Ernest Stevens Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association in Washington. "As other tribes start to branch out, they're watching what the Pechanga band is doing to develop its economy."

The Pechanga Resort & Casino sits on the band's 4,500-acre reservation in fast-growing southwest Riverside County. Located east of Interstate 15 and just north of San Diego County, it is well-situated to lure visitors from all over Southern California.

"Temecula is already a destination area with its golf courses, balloon race and wineries. This will just bring more people in," said Bruce Baltin of PFK Consulting, a Los Angeles tourism consulting firm.

Temecula's tourism promoters are delighted about the new development, but some residents see a downside.

"It's going to increase traffic, in a place that's already congested," said Joseph Phelps, 77, who owns a golf course six miles east of the resort. But he credited the Indian tribe with bringing increased revenue to the city.

"The Pechangas helped put Temecula on the map," he said.

For the tribe, the new resort and casino is an attempt to diversify its economy and guarantee long-term prosperity for its 1,400 members, many of whom were mired in poverty not long ago.

The band gambled by taking a $150 million loan to help fund the project, and the tribe estimates it will take at least as much to run the casino in the course of a year. The tribe does not disclose its profits.

"We took a tremendous risk, and we hope all the projections we based our decision on will come to fruition," said Butch Murphy, the Pechanga band's spokesman.

Murphy said he's proud that even before the expansion, income from the casino helped pay for parks, a fire station and community programs for the tribe, and contributed to civic improvement projects for the city of Temecula.

"As a tribal member, it's very heartening to experience the hope that's generated now and the kind of lifestyle that we've been able to establish for our tribal members," Murphy said. "It's wonderful."