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Arizona tribes on road to recovery with $1.81B in casino revenues

Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Photo from Facebook

The Arizona Indian Gaming Association is releasing a report on the state's tribal casino industry on Friday.

According to The Arizona Republic, the report will show that tribal revenues reached $1.81 billion in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2014. While that's lower than the peak of $1.94 billion in 2007, the figure shows that the industry is rebounding from the national economic recession.

“You can tell by the growth what gaming has done,” Blessing McAnlis-Vasquez, a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community who started a marketing business that provides services to tribal casinos, told the paper. “It’s brought not only jobs but careers."

The casinos themselves employ about 15,000 people, the majority of whom are non-Indian. And tribes have shared more than $1.1 billion in revenues with the state and local communities since 2004.

The Salt River Tribe is capitalizing on its success with a naming rights deal for a stadium in Phoenix. The The Talking Stick Resort Arena will help promote the Talking Stick Resort and the Salt River Fields.

Get the Story:
How tribal gaming impacts the Arizona economy (The Arizona Republic 10/8)
Arizona tribes expand brands, business reach (KPHO 10/8)