Las Vegas Review-Journal – New casino development in Las Vegas is on lockdown. Gaming expansion into states beyond recently approved markets is virtually nonexistent. Those are two reasons regional casino giant and M Resort owner Penn National Gaming struck a deal with a San Diego-area Indian tribe to develop a long-stalled casino complex in Southern California. A third reason is simple.
Penn National, which has 29 casinos nationwide, views the planned $360 million Hollywood Casino Jamul as an opportunity to increase its customer base in an untapped market. The development is 20 miles east of downtown San Diego, California’s second-largest city and the eighth-most populous city the U.S.
“We love the location and it’s a new way for us to cultivate a whole new set of customers,” Penn National Chief Operating Officer Jay Snowden said of the property, which is being built in partnership with the Jamul Village Indian Tribe.
In addition to the 390-room M Resort, Penn’s other Western casino is the Zia Park Racetrack in New Mexico.
“We’re eager for any opportunities to grow the company,” Snowden said.
The idea of the commercial casino industry striking management deals with Indian tribes isn’t new.
Station Casinos manages two Indian casinos — one each in California and Michigan — and has a deal for another Indian gaming project in central California. The company helped build and operate one of Northern California’s largest Indian casinos from 2003 to 2010 when the management contract expired.
Caesars Entertainment Corp. operates Indian casinos in California, Arizona and North Carolina.
“We’re very happy with the three partnerships we have cultivated,” Caesars Central Division President John Payne said. “The customers have been a great addition to our network. The facilities have developed into tourist destinations, not just pure casinos.”
Payne said customer activity at the Harrah’s-branded casinos near San Diego, outside Phoenix and in northern North Carolina are recorded within the company’s Total Rewards program. The locations allow Caesars to market the company’s properties in destination markets, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
“Some of these partnerships are decades old,” Payne said. “We’ve worked hard to further those relationships.”
