Wildhorse Resort & Casino

Wildhorse Resort & Casino is a casino owned and operated since 1995 by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located five miles east of Pendleton, on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, near Interstate 84.

The resort has expanded each year since its beginning, doubling the size of the casino in 2002 and 2003, adding a conference center in 2004, completely renovating its 100 room hotel in 2005 and expanding in 2006-07 to add four food and beverage venues: a buffet restaurant, a fine-dining restaurant, a cabaret and a lounge.Fact|date=June 2007 After contentious discussion within the tribal community, the previously "dry" (not serving alcoholic beverages) resort, located on a dry reservation, began serving alcoholic beverages on May 5 2006. Because of this change, a lounge, Players, opened in May 2007.

Key components of the resort are a casino, golf course, hotel, recreational vehicle park, children's entertainment center, teepee camping village, and the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute tribal museum. The casino offers poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, Spanish 21, bingo, keno and just over 800 slot machines, 30% of which are in a no-smoking area.

The golf course is a championship, 18-hole course designed by John Steidel that opened in 1997, with approximately 30,000 rounds played annually and hosting about 80 tournaments. It includes a driving range, practice greens, rental clubs, the Clubhouse Grill & Bar, a pro shop and a variety of teaching programs.

The hotel is connected to the casino while the RV Park is located nearby, between the casino and golf course.

The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, located on the resort grounds, includes permanent and rotating exhibits on the history and culture of the three tribes who make up the Confederated Tribes (CTUIR): the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla.

The resort has sparked an economic boom for the CTUIR, which has increased the tribal operating budget from less than $10 million in 1992 to approximately $145 million in 2007. The largest expenditures and the largest single department in the tribal government are devoted to protecting and restoring natural resources on the reservation and throughout the traditional homelands of the three tribes. To this end, the tribes are one of the largest employers of biologists and other environmental scientists in the region.Fact|date=June 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.wildhorseresort.com/ Wildhorse Resort & Casino] "(official website)"
* [http://www.americancasinoguide.com/Casino_Review/htmlfiles/Wildhorse_Resort_&_Casino.shtml American Casino Guide: Wildhorse Resort & Casino]
* [http://www.casinocamper.com/Oregon.htm#Horse CasinoCamper.com: Wildhorse Resort & Casino]
* [http://traveloregon.com/Explore-Oregon/Eastern-Oregon/Places-To-Stay/Lodging/Wildhorse-Resort--Casino.aspx TravelOregon.com: Wildhorse Resort & Casino]