By Mila Besich-Lira

Last week the San Carlos Apache Tribe announced that the Tribe will begin construction on a second casino within the Copper Corridor. The new casino will be located just east of highway 77 at Milepost 127 between Mammoth and Dudleyville.

The Tribe is planning on constructing a temporary facility that will house up to 400 slot machines, 10 to 12 table games, a small lounge and restaurant. Future plans for the casino site will include a permanent full service resort which will include hotel and convention space. The anticipated opening of the temporary casino will be in the first half of 2014 with construction of the permanent facility to begin shortly after of the opening of the temporary location.

The plans for construction of the second casino were put on hold in 2008 due to the nationwide economic downturn. In a press release provided by the Tribe, they announced that the project will help to bring much needed economic benefits to the Tribe and the surrounding areas. They anticipate that the new casino will create 400 permanent jobs in addition to the construction jobs and it will also bring millions of dollars in revenue to the area.

The San Carlos Apache Tribe is allowed to operate two class II gaming facilities according to the 2003 State Gaming Compact. The Tribe will be hosting community meetings prior to the construction of the temporary facility. According to the press release, the Tribe is looking forward to working with the local communities and communicating with them about the construction process and economic benefits.

The Tribe’s first casino the Apache Gold Casino Resort is located just east of Globe on the San Carlos Indian Reservation.