Members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians marked the official grand opening

$95 million Spa Resort Casino.

At a morning ceremony attended by about 200 people, including tribal members and city officials, Tribal Council Chairman Richard M. Milanovich said the casino's opening is the culmination of more than eight years of hard work and planning by tribal leaders.

He also said it took a substantial leap of faith to get the project moving forward at the start, as the tribe dealt with numerous state political and economic hurdles. 슬롯

"We decided to invest more than a third of the tribe's money, and we had no way of knowing for sure if this was going to work," he said.

The 130,000-square-foot gaming facility includes a new entertainment lounge and four restaurants, as well as 1,000 slot machines and 30 table games.

The casually elegant, upscale casino was designed by Costa Mesa-based architectural firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, which has done past work for Ritz -Carlton hotels and Las Vegas landmarks like The Venetian and Caesars Palace. "I've heard it's been likened to those Las Vegas places like Bellagio, or Mandalay Bay or The Venetian," Milanovich said at the ceremony. "But this is our casino. It's Palm Springs' casino."

Milanovich said the tribe has increased its marketing efforts in Los Angeles and Orange counties in a bid to draw more visitors to the downtown casino. The tribe as well as city economic development experts have projected that the casino will bring a boost in business activity to the downtown area, although exact dollar figures are not available.

Located at 401 E. Amado Road, just off Indian Canyon Drive, the new casino replaces a tented gaming area that was adjacent to the tribe's nearby Spa Resort, which opened in 1995. The tented area has been closed and will eventually be cleared away for a parking lot.