Meetings Today - October 2018

As Indian gaming properties up the ante with upgrades and expansions, they also offer an increased focus on authentic cultural activities that honor their tribal owners.

Camille Ferguson, executive director of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, notes that tapping into a Native American casino’s cultural components can help define a meeting or event.

“Not all delegates want to participate in gaming,” Ferguson said. “But holding an event at a casino with a strong cultural component can leave delegates with lifelong memories while also knowing they have helped contribute to the local economy.”

Isleta Resort & Casino
Albuquerque, N.M.
www.isleta.com

Isleta Resort & Casino, the second-largest
tribal casino in New Mexico, will undergo a

$40 million renovation that will expand the casino floor and add a new concert venue and a new bingo facility. Tribal elements can be found throughout the hotel.

Tip: Thanks to migrating Spaniards of the 1500s, many Native communities in New Mexico commemorate a patron saint and celebrate the respective Feast Day.

Tulalip Resort Casino
Tulalip, Wash.
www.tulalipresortcasino.com

With a multimillion-dollar renovation under its belt, the resort features 370 rooms and suites, 30,000 square feet of meeting space and a 200,000-square-foot gaming floor with more than 2,200 slots and 35 gaming tables.

The re-do emphasized the resort’s tribal ownership and celebrated the heritage of the Tulalip Tribe, including introducing a Native Coast Salish art collection worth more than $1 million. A room refresh also incorporated Native artwork.

Tip: Book an event at the resort’s Blackfish restaurant, where Chef de Cuisine David Buchanan prepares sockeye salmon using traditional tribal techniques.

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Fla.
www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com

When the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino completes a $1.5 billion expansion next fall, it will feature more than 1,300 rooms, a new 7,000-seat entertainment venue, 120,000 square feet of meeting space, more than 3,200 slots and nearly 180 table games.

Native cultural elements include poolside Chickee Huts, which serve as traditional Seminole shelters.

Tip: The February Seminole Tribal Fair and Pow Wow boasts drum and dance competitions and deep-water alligator wrestling.

Foxwoods Resort & Casino Mashantucket, Conn. www.foxwoods.com

The largest gaming resort in the U.S., Foxwoods recently completed a renovation that added more than 100 slot machines to

Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which is slated to open a highly publicized guitar-shaped tower next fall, is proof enough that gaming venues come in all shapes, sizes—and locales.