“We are turning it into a tourist destination.”

“The casino will be a vibrant touch to this whole city,” said Puyallup Tribal Vice Chairman Bill Sterud. It is projected to pump $1.5 billion into the local economy during the next decade. Located at 2920 East R St., Tacoma, Wash., the nearly $400 million facility boasts glamour, glitz and state-of-the-art technology. “There are very few casinos, even in Las Vegas, that are nicer than this one,” he said. The Puyallup Tribal News recently took a hard hat tour of the site, led by Emerald Queen General Manager Frank Wright. Right now, it’s “early 2020.” As with any major construction project, equipment tests, final permits and many other details will play into the new casino’s opening day. How soon? Tribal officials aren’t quite ready to give an opening date.

Inside the building, the noises are a little more muted – zings of drills, swishes of furniture moving furniture and spritzing of cleaning bottles.Ĭrews are knocking out punch list items for the Puyallup Tribe’s new 310,000-square-foot casino, which is set to open soon. The sounds of construction – deep rumbles, clanks and beep-beep-beeps of heavy equipment – are happening outside the Puyallup Tribe’s new Emerald Queen Casino. By Lisa Pemberton, Puyallup Tribal News staff writer