Angel of the Winds Casino Resort is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

and hotel operated by the

Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington, is a federally recognized tribe of Stillaguamish people. They are a tribe of Southern Coast Salish indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest located in ...

near

Arlington, Washington Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, adjacent to the city of Marysville. It i ...

, US. The casino opened in 2004 and was expanded to include a 125-room hotel in 2015.

History

The Stillaguamish Tribe, a party to the

Treaty of Point Elliott The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...

of 1855, became

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

in 1976, but lacked a reservation and had limited revenue from small commercial ventures. In November 2002, the 200 member tribe announced plans to build a casino under the states's enhanced tribal gambling law passed two years earlier. The selected site, on the tribe's trust lands along 35th Avenue Northeast near

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

west of Arlington, drew backlash from nearby residents concerned about traffic impacts and the loss of the area's rural character. The Tribe planned to demolish 30 homes on a property it owned, asking members living there to relocate with property buybacks. Plans called for the use of a

controlled burn A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

by the Bryant Fire Department to raze the site, allowing firefighters to train during the demolition, but the proposal was withdrawn. The $36 million casino project was initially planned to be funded by a loan from a Las Vegas investor though a Michigan pension fund, but the investor's refusal to submit documents to the Washington State Gambling Commission delayed the project indefinitely in May 2003. A $19 million loan from the Marshall Bank was announced in January 2004, reviving the project. The casino, named "Angel of the Winds", was scaled down from to . It was redesigned to be a temporary venue, with modular elements that could be sold off once the tribe opened a permanent casino near Smokey Point. The Angel of the Winds Casino opened on October 28, 2004, with 425 slot machines and 10 to 12 game tables. The opening of Angel of the Winds came a few weeks after the

Tulalip Tribes The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. Th ...

reopened the competing Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Marysville as a local alternative to the larger Tulalip Casino. During its full year of operation, the casino generated nearly $30 million in revenue for the Stillaguamish Tribe. The tribe was asked by the

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

to remove a billboard on Interstate 5 advertising the casino, after outcry from residents opposed to the casino. A $44 million expansion to the casino was completed in December 2008, increasing the number of slot machines to 1,000 and the interior space to . A second, $27 million expansion completed in January 2015 added a five-story hotel with 125 rooms and a

smoke shop A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retailer of tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specia ...

. The Angel of the Winds Casino and surrounding land formed the Stillaguamish Tribe's designated reservation, approved by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

in 2014. In December 2017, the Stillaguamish Tribe signed a 10-year, $3.4 million

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

deal to sponsor the

Angel of the Winds Arena Angel of the Winds Arena (originally known as Everett Events Center) is a multi-purpose complex in Everett, Washington, United States, designed and developed by the Everett Public Facilities District. It opened in October 2003, with the naming ...

in Everett. The casino announced a $60 million expansion program in 2018, which will add of space, including more gaming space, a restaurant, and a parking garage for 575 vehicles. The first section of the expansion, an expanded gaming floor and bar, opened in September 2019, followed by a

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

and events center. The casino was closed for two months during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and became the first in Western Washington to reopen, doing so on May 13, 2020, with limited capacity and temperature checks. The casino also introduced a no-smoking policy for the entire building.

References

External links

*{{official, angelofthewinds.com Buildings and structures in Snohomish County, Washington Casino hotels Casinos completed in 2004 Casinos in Washington (state) Native American casinos Tourist attractions in Snohomish County, Washington 2004 establishments in Washington (state) Native American history of Washington (state)