Paradise Casino is a small
tribal casino located just outside of
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515.
Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...
on the
Fort Yuma Indian Reservation
The Fort Yuma Indian Reservation is a part of the traditional lands of the Quechan people. Established in 1884 from the former Fort Yuma, the reservation, at , has a land area of in southeastern Imperial County, California, and western Yuma Coun ...
. The property straddles the Arizona–California state line, but the casino building lies in Arizona. It is owned and operated by the
Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation.
History
In 1993, the Quechan tribe signed a
compact
Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to:
* Interstate compact
* Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines
* Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...
with the state of Arizona to allow construction of a casino with 475 slot machines. Construction began in January 1996. The casino opened to tribe members on July 31, 1996, and opened to the general public the next day.
It was built at a cost of $13 million.
In 1999, the tribe negotiated a compact with the state of California to open a casino on the other side of the state line, seven feet away from the existing casino.
Operating in California would allow the casino to offer
blackjack, which was not allowed under Arizona gaming compacts at the time.
[ ] The extra space would also reduce crowding in the existing casino.
Construction of the California casino began in February 2002.
It opened on December 20, 2002, with 20 blackjack tables and 200 slot machines. The two casinos were jointly operated as Paradise Casino Arizona and Paradise Casino California.
In 2009, Paradise Casino California was closed, as the tribe's California gaming operation was transferred to the newly constructed
Quechan Casino Resort, seven miles to the west.
The new casino resort was expected to draw away tourist traffic, leaving Paradise Casino Arizona as more of a
locals casino
A locals casino is a casino designed primarily to attract residents of the area in which it was built rather than tourists or vacationers. The term is most commonly associated with casinos in Nevada, United States, to distinguish them from casino ...
. Paradise Casino California was then converted into an 800-seat event venue, the Paradise Event Center, which opened with a
Lonestar concert in June 2009.
A major renovation of the Paradise Casino was completed in 2011.
References
External links
* {{official website, http://www.paradise-casinos.com/, Paradise Casino
Quechan
Buildings and structures in Yuma, Arizona
Casinos in Arizona
Native American casinos
Casinos completed in 1996
1996 establishments in Arizona
Native American history of Arizona