Spirit Mountain Casino (Oregon)
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Spirit Mountain Casino is a Native American casino located in Grand Ronde, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 18. It is operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and was created to "enhance economic self-sufficiency opportunities for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, its members and surrounding communities; to promote economic diversification by the Tribes: to support a variety of housing, educational and cultural programs under the direction of Tribal Council".[1] It is the state's busiest tourist attraction, drawing three million visitors a year.[2]
The casino's amenities include a 254-room hotel, 90,000 square feet of gaming floors, five restaurants, live entertainment and other special events. Games include 2000 slot machines, blackjack, craps, poker, pai gow poker, roulette, and keno.
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[edit] Spirit Mountain Community Fund
Six percent of the profits from the casino goes to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund (SMCF) and are in turn donated to organizations in western Oregon, an area which includes eleven counties: Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington, Tillamook, Lincoln, Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Benton, Linn, and Lane.[3] Since 1998, the SMCF has also funded the Mark O. Hatfield Fellowship to enable a Native American to serve as a staff member to a member of the U.S. Congressional Delegation from Oregon.[4]
[edit] Expansion
Spirit Mountain Casino is currently undergoing its fourth major expansion since it opened its doors in 1995. On February 5, 2007 members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde joined executive staff for the groundbreaking on the new South Expansion Project. This two-story project, slated for completion by the summer of 2008, will add 135,000 square feet, including an events and entertainment center, the new Coyote's Buffet, conference rooms, and internal office space for the Human Resources department (currently located two miles away).
[edit] Issues with fire protection
State and local officials have said that the casino has a potentially dangerous lack of fire protection.[2] For example, the mostly-volunteer West Valley Fire District lacks a ladder that can reach above two floors, and the closest trucks that can do so are 45 minutes away, in Dallas and McMinnville.[2]
The issue in part reflects the fact that as sovereign nations, tribes are exempt from property taxes that would normally cover fire service. And unlike Washington and California, Oregon does not require tribes to pay for fire services; among the Oregon tribes with gaming operations, the Grand Ronde Community is the only one that does not either regularly pay local fire departments or run its own fire agency.[2]
The Grand Ronde tribe points out that a June 2005 report by HYT Corporation, a Concord, California-based fire protection consulting firm hired by the tribe, commended them for an "exemplary building and a strong safety program"; the tribe also noted that the SMCF has granted West Valley Fire District $239,000 for a medical rig in 2000 and $50,000 toward a new water tender in 2003.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Spirit Mountain Casino - The Grand Ronde, Oregon Casino. Spirit Mountain Casino. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ a b c d e Spirit Mountain: Casino's odds worry fire chief, a December 2006 blog entry from The Oregonian newsroom
- ^ About the Fund from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund website
- ^ Dennis Worden To Work in Congress as Hatfield Fellow, from the Oregon Minority Business website
