Are More Tribal Casinos Coming To Las Vegas?

Are More Tribal Casinos Coming To Las Vegas

Are More Tribal Casinos Coming To Las Vegas

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment became the first tribal gaming company to establish a business presence in Las Vegas. They own and operate the casino in the new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. That gaming venue is called Mohegan Sun Casino.

This has led other tribal gaming companies to consider a move into Las Vegas as well. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will be the next tribal casino to establish a presence in this town. The tribe recently announced its plans to buy the Palms for $650 million.

There has also been some speculation that the Seminole Tribe of Florida is interested in Las Vegas. This tribe owns and operates Hard Rock casinos in the Sunshine State.

Tribal Casinos Expanding west to Las Vegas has always been a possibility.

Josh Swissman is gaming consultant with The Strategy Organization. His thoughts on the situation include:

“I think the Palms sale has tribes across the country thinking about Vegas. This is just fortuitous timing for these tribes to enter the market given their performance over the years.”

Tribal casinos in the US date back to the 1970’s. In certain states such as Florida, tribal venues are the only casinos in operation. They started small but have grown into a major force in the entire casino gambling industry.

A great example of that is Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. This company got its start in Connecticut and it has expanded from there.

Going back to 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed. The created a regulatory structure for tribal gaming in the US. At that time, the tribal gaming industry as a whole was valued at $121 million.

Less than 20 years later, that value sky-rocketed to $32 billion. There are 28 states with some form of tribal casinos. Combined, these casinos account for half the gaming revenue in the country. This is according to the American Gaming Association.

At the start, tribal casinos were normally located on tribal land. That is no longer the case. The Seminole Tribe own and operate nine Hard Rock casinos across multiple states.

Katherine Spilde is a professor at San Diego State University with an extensive background in tribal gaming. She pointed out:

“This is really a natural evolution. Once you’ve kind of built out your own property and maximized what you can do in a market that you’re in…we see tribes then go looking to go onto commercial expansion into a casino that’s not on tribal land.”

Given the success of these tribes in their home markets, Las Vegas becomes a natural target for expansion plans.

The casino gaming capital of the US has undergone numerous changes in ownership over the years. At its peak, Las Vegas can attract more than 42 million tourists every year.

Coming off the recent health pandemic and all the problems it caused, Las Vegas is poised for a strong recovery. This also presents a golden opportunity for any gaming tribe looking to create a business presence in this town.

• Source: More tribes seeking piece of casino action in Las Vegas from Reviewjournal.com On May 8, 2021.

Rich Caesar

Rich Caesar

Rich Caesar is a part time writer for the Play Slots 4 Real Money online casino reviews, gambling news and mobile casino complaints site. He grew up in Las Vegas and worked in the casino gambling business for several years. We are proud to have Rich as a part time writer on our site.

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