Angel of the Winds casino expansion ahead of schedule
Published 11:07 am Tuesday, November 4, 2014
ARLINGTON — The Angel of the Winds Casino wanted to open its $27 million expansion and new five-story hotel by this New Year’s Eve.
Looks like they’re ahead of schedule.
The casino announced today that the expansion will open by mid-December. Reservations can be made by 360-474-9740 or visiting www.angelofthewinds.com.
The expansion will give the casino a hotel for the first time and add 100,000 square feet to the casino while creating 50 new jobs, said general manager Travis O’Neil in a news release.
“We are truly blessed to have an opportunity to add a hotel to our facility, allowing us to provide an amenity that our casino guests have been requesting for quite some time,” O’Neil said.
The new hotel will feature 125 rooms, including six suites with most more than 800 square feet. The expansion will also include the new River Rock Smoke Shop, a gift shop as well as a porte-cochere and valet station. In earlier expansions, the casino added 400 slot machines and Katie’s Kitchen, a restaurant named after tribal member and advocate Kathleen Goodridge Johnson.
The hotel was designed by DreamCatcher Hotels and constructed by Exxel Pacific. Angel Of The Winds Casino is located just three minutes east of I-5 Exit 210 north of Arlington.
Angel Of The Winds is owned by the Stillaguamish Tribe, which opened the casino — dubbed the world’s friendliest — in October 2004 on their tribal land.
“We built Angel Of The Winds Casino on our tribe’s lands and the addition of a hotel gives us the opportunity to welcome old and new friends back to our home for just an evening, or a weekend adventure,” said Shawn Yanity, chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribal, in th news release.
Since the casino opened, they have donated over $6.2 million to local organizations such as Arlington Food Bank, North County Fire and Rescue, and the Boys and Girls Club. They also work to invest in local companies, such as the Arlington based InCycle, which creates eco-friendly cups.
