A tribal-owned casino at southern Nevada’s border won’t be harmed by the construction of the tribe’s new casino in northwest Arizona, and is likely to be expanded in the future.
Richard Cook, president of the Avi Resort & Casino on the Colorado River near Laughlin, told the Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday that the construction of the new Spirit Mountain Casino by the Fort Mojave Tribe won’t pose a problem for the tribe’s Nevada property.
“It’s just in its infancy stages, but we’re out there looking to do a feasibility study to see if it would be good for us to expand our property – whether it’s more hotel rooms or larger convention or casino space,” Cook said. “This property is 30 years old now and the area has grown over the last 30 years. There’s an opportunity. Right now, we’re only at 452 rooms, so on big weekends, especially in the summertime, we run very high occupancy. We have an opportunity to increase hotel, gaming, and food and beverage revenue. We are going to see if we have an opportunity to expand, but we believe there is.”
When he spoke to the Gaming Control Board earlier this month, Cook said a feasibility study might be done, but he indicated to the Commission that it was likely to happen.
Cook said the expansion of conference space isn’t for conventions, but for weddings, reunions, and other events, since the property is on the Colorado River with a beach, boat ramp, golf course and campgrounds. “It’s not for convention business like Las Vegas would have, but more for individual travelers,” Cook said.
Commissioner Brian Krolicki questioned whether the Spirit Mountain Casino cannibalize Avi customers.
Cook said that while the new Spirit Mountain Casino is the same market, being 12 miles away makes a lot of difference. The area between Laughlin and Needles, Calif., where the tribe is headquartered, has a population of 100,000.
The Avi has 465 rooms and a 25,000-square-foot casino with more than 700 slot machines. The new Spirit Mountain will have no hotel rooms and more than 300 slot machines.
Cook, who has been at the Avi for 12 years and worked in the gaming industry for more than 30 years, received his licensing approval from the Commission.
Commission members said they were happy with the plans for expansion and the success of the property.
“We’re doing a lot of great things here and financially we’re successful,” Cook said. “The last 10 years have been very good and we continue to grow the business. The people are happy and friendly and being successful here helps the local community as well as the tribe.”
Cook was asked why the property allows guests to bring in ice chests to their rooms. He said it was because a lot of families come to the property in the summer and spend time on the Colorado River on boats.
“The economy has changed a little bit in the last couple of years, especially in the summer. It seems we are attracting a little more value customer who will pack their stuff because they go down to the beach,” Cook said.
