The Desert Diamond Casino, owned and operated by the Tohono O’odham Nation, provides four exciting entertainment venues in Southern Arizona: Desert Diamond Casino (Nogales Highway), Desert Diamond Casino (I-19 & Pima Mine Rd), Golden Ha:san Casino (Why, AZ) and Desert Diamond Casino (West Valley). The mission of the casinos is to provide the means for a. Winning awaits at four exciting Desert Diamond Casino destinations. Get in on the action at our amazing properties featuring exhilarating games, a relaxing hotel, appetizing restaurants and top entertainment. This is where Arizona comes to play.

1. Opens Sunday in Glendale amid legal battle. ABC15 is your destination for Arizona breaking news, weather, traffic, streaming video and in-depth coverage to k.
2. The Tohono O'odham Nation announced Tuesday that its new, full-scale Desert Diamond West Valley Casino with table games and slot machines will open on Feb. Construction is nearly complete on.

Former Tohono O’odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. “this day was a long time in coming.”

Opening of the interim facility which opened Dec. 20, 2015. To get to the groundbreaking day it took patience, persistence and perseverance by the tribe and its members. “We have come a long way,” former Tohono O’odham Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. There were many to thank to get to this momentous day and let bygones be bygones and start a new chapter in economic development and self-reliance of the nation. The new casino is bound to be a huge economic impact on the West Valley and the state.

More than eight years after the project was first announced, the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise (TOGE) broke ground Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, on the permanent, full-scale home for its Desert Diamond West Valley Casino. The new facility will feature a 75,000 square-foot casino floor with Class III slot machines, poker and blackjack tables, and live bingo, as well as five restaurants. Construction of the $400 million project will last an estimated 24 months.

Construction of the project, headed by the Hunt/Penta Joint Venture as general contractor and will create over 1,500 construction jobs. Once complete, the full-scale casino will employ approximately 1,600 people. The facility is located on 54 acres of reservation land near the cities of Glendale and Peoria, Arizona. The full-scale casino will complement the region’s vibrant sports and entertainment attractions, including Glendale’s Westgate Entertainment District and Peoria’s P83 Entertainment District.

The Tohono O’odham Nation first announced the major casino project Jan. 29, 2009. The casino project faced significant challenges from special interests in court and in multiple attempts to move federal legislation to halt the project. These challenges failed, and an interim casino opened to huge crowds Dec. 20, 2015. It currently employs nearly 600 people. The interim casino will continue operating during construction and then transition to use as a warehouse after the full-scale casino opens.

Edward Manuel, Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation said, “This facility will provide jobs and economic opportunity for members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the West Valley and Arizona. The Nation is proud of the partnerships we have forged in the region, which will only strengthen and grow as we move forward.”

Andy Asselin, CEO of the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise said “This is a day our guests and employees have been looking forward to for a long time. We have put together a terrific construction team that will be developing a unique attraction for the entire West Valley. We’re eager to get started.”

TOGE is also planning future phases of construction once the permanent casino is complete, including a hotel, spa and other resort amenities. Once fully built out, the resort and casino will occupy over one-million square-feet and create more than 3,000 jobs.

Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment, with three locations in Southern Arizona (Tucson, Sahuarita and Why) and one in the West Valley, is owned and operated by the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, an enterprise of the Tohono O’odham Nation.

Gaming revenue at casinos in Arizona grew slightly from 2013 to 2014, the fourth year in a row revenues have risen. The state’s casinos still pulled in more than $1.8 billion in revenues last year, which experts attributed to an improving economy. (Photo by Cronkite News)

State officials and industry experts say casinos have kept expanding, making them optimistic about the future. They cite projects like the Tohono O’odham Desert Diamond resort and casino in Glendale, which opened in December. (Photo by Megan Siquieros/Desert Diamond)

WASHINGTON – Revenues from Arizona casinos inched up to $1.82 billion in 2014 for a fourth straight year of growth, both trends that mirrored tribal casinos nationwide, according to a new national report.

Casino City’s Indian Gaming Report, released Thursday, said gaming revenues at Arizona casinos grew a modest 0.6 percent, or about $11 million, from 2013 to 2014, the most recent year for which complete numbers were available.

Arizona’s $1.82 billion in gaming revenues for 2014 was the fifth-highest gross among states with Indian gaming. Those five states accounted for 62 percent of the national total gaming revenue, which was at an “all-time high” of $28.9 billion, according to the report.

“Arizona has experienced somewhat slower growth in recent years,” said Alan Meister, author of the report and principal economist at Nathan Associates.

High rollers

The five states with the most tribal casino revenue in 2014, according to a new report, that said these states accounted for 61.7 percent of the national tribal gaming revenue:

Gaming revenue in the report was defined at the total amount wagered, minus any payouts or prizes.

Nationwide, Indian gaming saw “modest growth” of 2 percent in the same period. It attributed the increase in gaming revenues to an “improvement of U.S. and state economies” and growth in both the national GDP and per capita personal income.

The effects of an improving economy could also be seen in the state, said Amanda Jacinto, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Gaming, who said better business at the state’s casinos “showcases the economy for the entire state.”

Jacinto said over the last few years the department has seen a consistent increase in funding for Indian gaming, which has left her office “very optimistic” about the prospects for gaming in the state.

Progress On Desert Diamond Casino In Glendale Az Valley

Meister attributes the slightly slower growth in Arizona partly to the economy and partly to the state’s limitations on the number of machines casinos can have, which he said creates an “artificial restriction” on growth.

At the same time, he said, many casinos in Arizona have expanded their non-gaming amenities in recent years.

“The non-gaming side is an important trend going on,” Meister said, adding that the shift toward resort amenities is part of an attempt to attract a younger audience that wants more personal interaction.

The success of the industry in Arizona allowed many casinos to complete renovations and expansions in 2014 and 2015, the report said, pointing to completed development projects at six casinos in the state in 2014 and 2015. Many of those improvements included some form of non-gambling amenities like restaurants and spas.

Chief among projects completed last year was the opening of the long-delayed Desert Diamond Casino on disputed Tohono O’odham land in Glendale. Meister said he believes the project “will be able to spur growth even though it is a developing property.”

Desert Diamond Casino In Glendale Az

The report said more projects are planned for this year: The Navajo Nation has plans for a casino near the Grand Canyon, while the Yavapai-Prescott Indian tribe has plans to combine its current properties, Bucky’s and Yavapai Casino, in a new facility.