JANUARY 2008: AROUND THE STATE
New
casino opens strong in Florence
FLORENCE
Three Rivers Casino & Hotel is settling nicely into its new
digs. Despite relocating just last month from the pop-up tent
that formerly housed the gaming operation to its new $60
million facility, by mid-December the casino’s 93-room
hotel was already booked for New Year’s weekend.
“Each day we get probably 3,000 or 4,000 people,”
says Rich Colton, director of consumer marketing for Three
Rivers.
The casino, which features slots, table games, an
entertainment center and five restaurants, opened its doors
Dec. 1, during one of the worst storms in recent history on the
Oregon Coast. But even that didn’t stop gamers from
lining up.
“Despite Mother Nature, with the storm, we had probably
over 500 or 600 people waiting,” Colton says.
With an annual payroll of $11 million, the casino —
owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower
Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians — is also a boon to the local
economy. The expansion has brought more than 250 new jobs to
the town of around 8,000, according to Colton.
A grand opening is planned for Jan. 19-21, and Colton
anticipates another full house. Any overflow the hotel will
refer to other local lodging.
“If we’re sold out, we send everybody
business,” Colton says. “And we’ve been doing
that.”
JAMIE HARTFORD
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