SACTION, AZ – The Gila River Community Council has approved by resolution a fourth casino site including a budget for design and construction. The Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), as well as other tribes, recently executed an Amended and Restated Compact with the State of Arizona.
The negotiations with the state and Arizona gaming tribes occurred over a five-year period culminating in an effective Amended and Restated Compact in May of 2021. A critical term in the Amended and Restated Compact between the GRIC and State of Arizona is a fourth casino for the GRIC. The GRIC gave up its fourth casino in the 2002 gaming compact, based on the promise that there would be no new casinos in the Phoenix metro area. The promise was broken and the GRIC fought hard to ensure that they could reclaim their right to be a fourth casino as part of these recent negotiations.
The GRIC has announced that preparations are underway to construct a fourth casino. The preparations currently include hiring an architect to design the casino and preparing the selected site for construction. The site selected in District 4 is located on GRIC trust land south of the junction of Gilbert Road and Hunt Highway. The GRIC estimates it will take 18-24 months to design and construct the fourth casino.
“The Gila River Indian Community has been engaged in negotiations for years with the state regarding an Amended and Restated Compact,” said Stephen Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community. “Adding a fourth casino will bring additional revenue, security, and critical services to Community members. In addition, we anticipate being able to add hundreds of new jobs that Community members can take advantage of, and we expect that many of those will be filled by Community members, just as was the case at the Vee Quiva Casino located in District 6. I hope you will join us in celebrating this historic news.”
More details about the fourth casino will be released soon.
