Stillaguamish Tribe puts finishing touches on new hotel

  • By Jim Davis The Herald Business Journal Editor
  • Friday, December 12, 2014 12:23pm
  • BusinessArlington

ARLINGTON — The World’s Friendliest Casino looks like the World’s Busiest Casino at the moment.

Crews are scrambling this week to put the finishing touches on a $27 million, five-story hotel addition to Angel of the Winds casino, making beds, plugging in Keurig coffeemakers and fixing blemishes spotted with blue tape.

Tribal elders will be the first to stay at the hotel Monday, other tribal members on Tuesday and then VIPs and other invited guests on Wednesday.

“We get that one chance to make a first impression,” said Travis O’Neil, the casino’s general manager. “We want to be ready.”

The hotel opens to paying guests on New Year’s Eve, mainly loyal Angel of the Winds customers, but a few rooms may open to the general public. It’ll be up and running fully Jan. 2, O’Neil said.

Stillaguamish Tribe chairman Shawn Yanity has only visited the hotel once during construction, joking that he wanted to stay out of everyone’s way. He likes what he’s seen from the style and design to the attention of detail by developer DreamCatcher Hotels of Memphis, Tennessee.

“It’s a big commitment, but it was also a necessity to keep up with the growth and demand of the market as well as what the customers are asking for,” Yanity said.

Currently, Angel of the Winds at 3438 Stoluckquamish Lane draws upon a customer base mainly from Snohomish and Skagit counties. With the new hotel rooms, the casino is hoping to push that out to about 65 miles to tap into the Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., markets, O’Neil said.

“The Canadian traffic is something we’re going to go after,” O’Neil said. “Right now, they’re just driving right by us.”

He also added that the Angel of the Winds casino is the last casino along the I-5 corridor to add a hotel.

“This is a growth pattern,” O’Neil said. “The more amenities you add to a casino, the more successful you’ll be.”

The new hotel features 125 rooms and six suites that can connect with adjoining rooms. Room prices vary depending on the day, but run from run from $114-$189 for a deluxe room to $209-$279 for a suite. Each room features RainDance shower heads and comes with a 42-inch television. Lights mounted over the headboards of the bed and entertainment center give off a soft glow.

The hummingbird — a traditional native design made by a tribal member that’s used as a logo for the casino — is re-created in black metal with red lights above the front desk. Panels of enlaid cedar rounds will be mounted on some of the walls. The casino also commissioned photographer Steven Kennedy of Bellingham to take local pictures for artwork in rooms and common areas.

“It’s everything from Camano Island to Granite Falls,” said Eric Larsen, director of marketing and housing services, of the photography.

The new hotel offers a meeting room on the ground floor that holds 12 to 16 people. O’Neil said he imagines that it could be used for smaller get-togethers or mid-week business meetings.

The tribe got into the gaming business later than most tribes, opening the casino just 10 years ago in October 2004. The tribe didn’t have enough land for a casino until the tribal council made the difficult choice to clear out a housing development in the early 2000s where the casino, hotel, gas station and smoke shop now sit.

“It was a tough decision to make because it meant uprooting a number of families,” Yanity said.

The casino has helped the small tribe become a force in the local economy. In the mid-1990s, the tribe employed around 30 workers. Now the tribal administration employs 250 and the casino, gas station and smoke shop employ another 500, Yanity said. The casino added another 50 employees to staff the hotel.

“We were creating jobs at a time when jobs were scarce to get,” Yanity said. “We’ve been proud to provide jobs to a lot of local families with good wages and benefits.”

O’Neil, who has been the general manager for eight years, said it’s been a trying time to run a casino at the same time that a major construction project has been under way next door. The tribe over the last year also widened 35th Avenue NE outside the casino from two to three lanes.

The southbound I-5 bridge over the Stillaguamish River was under construction this year, too, causing the exit to the casino to be closed at times.

“It’s been a headache not only for our customers, but also our workers,” O’Neil said. “Just let everyone know that we should be done with that after this past year and a half of headaches.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.