Northern Quest Resort & Casino

Everybody wins┬áNorthern Quest Resort & Casino provides much more for its community than just entertainment, Gary Toushek discovers. In the 1990s the Kalispel Indian Tribe was so financially destitute it expected to file for bankruptcy before the decade ended. As a last resort, with low expectations, the tribe applied for a casino license. After a long approval process, the application was authorized, the financing was arranged, and Northern Quest Resort & Casino was built on a 40-acre site in Airway Heights, Washington, minutes from SpokaneÔÇÖs airport.  It opened at the end of 2000 to great local acclaim. It was a milestone for the tribe, which lived on a reservation 60 miles from the casino. ÔÇ£We had no money, few jobs, inadequate housing, no healthcare, and our well water was loaded with iron,ÔÇØ says casino assistant general manager Phil Haugen, a tribe member who worked his way up from being a front-line employee. ÔÇ£Our life expectancy is low: of about 400 tribe members, only 31 are over age 55; the majority are under 18. But now, things are changing.ÔÇØ He recalls walking into the $30 million casino for the first time, thinking it was huge. ÔÇ£We had built bigger than other tribes, but we didnÔÇÖt know what the market would be,ÔÇØ he admits. The 60,000-square-foot casino had 425 slot machines, with capacity for 600, and traditional table gamesÔÇöblackjack, roulette, keno, poker, craps, baccaratÔÇöin a gaming space that could go to 40,000 square feet. Locals in a 50-mile radius began visiting the new casino, and soon several expansions occurred. The first added gaming space; the second added restaurants and an entertainment pavilion. Then a third was begun. ÔÇ£We were always cautious; itÔÇÖs our nature as a tribe,ÔÇØ says Haugen.But in the casino business, you have to think big. So along with added gaming space, more restaurants and amenities, included in that third expansion was a 250-room upscale hotel, unique for the area (there are other hotels, but not with four stars, and most were built for the 1974 Spokane WorldÔÇÖs Fair), slated for completion this year. And there are plans for a hotel tower after that.The casino has a Las Vegas-style nightclub with a DJ and is doing well with a younger demographic. The sports bar has a 30-by-10-foot TV screen and is equipped for broadcast; a local TV station will partner with the casino for regional sports coverage, also unique in the area. The entertainment venue seats 1,300 for a concertÔÇörecent acts include Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band, the Temptations, Jay Leno, Blondie, Kenny Rogers, Dennis Miller, and Lewis BlackÔÇöand seats 900 for boxing events. ÔÇ£Recently we featured an American Olympic boxer in his US debut, as well as a world championship fight broadcast live to 31 countries,ÔÇØ says Haugen. ÔÇ£We also have a cage for mixed martial arts.ÔÇØ The pavilion offers a free afternoon show with acts like Debbie Reynolds, for example. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs always packed; our older guests love entertainers from a previous era.ÔÇØ The casinoÔÇÖs cigar lounge is popular because of the stateÔÇÖs no-smoking laws. The slot machine count is now up to 1,725, ÔÇ£and we think we havenÔÇÖt saturated the market yet.ÔÇØIndian-owned casinos arenÔÇÖt taxed, so whereÔÇÖs the revenue being invested? The Kalispel Tribe has just built on its reservation a $29 million wellness center offering medical and dental services to anybody in the region, not just Indians. It has the only licensed daycare center in the area (ÔÇ£Daycare is very expensive,ÔÇØ says Haugen. ÔÇ£We lose money on it, but we do it because itÔÇÖs needed, by those outside the tribe as wellÔÇØ) and a sports facility. The tribe expected 400 memberships in the center but soon had more than 2,500. The tribe has begun social programs for its members, such as an elder pension and an education program. In 2000, only five tribe members had college degrees; now about 40 students are enrolled in higher education. ÔÇ£If we want to progress and operate our own properties, we have to be educated,ÔÇØ says Haugen. Since diabetes is a serious concern for tribe members, dieticians were hired. And the tribe is looking at a long-term foster care center that would also be available to the public. ÔÇ£Some elders joke about our poverty, saying we didnÔÇÖt know we were poor until somebody told us,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£But we know how poverty affects oneÔÇÖs standard of living, and we want to help others, so the tribe has decided that everyone in the surrounding community should benefit from the success of our business. We give a great deal of money to charities, and weÔÇÖre now considered a major community partner, but we donÔÇÖt boast about it. WeÔÇÖll answer if asked, but itÔÇÖs not a big issue with us. So the more money we make, the more we give to charities, and we also offer organizations our entertainment pavilion for their larger events.ÔÇØ The tribe has contributed funding and programs to three school districts. The casino is one of the most prominent businesses in the area and one of the largest private employers in the region. The current staff of 1,300 will soon increase to 1,500 or so, and another 300 members are employed in tribal enterprises, including its government.Employees are trained off premises in a training center with a mock casino. ÔÇ£During a two-day orientation, we show them a video about the tribe and the casino,ÔÇØ Haugen explains. ÔÇ£We talk about their jobs in detail and answer their questions. WeÔÇÖre one of the first tribes to offer problem gambling counseling, and we train our employees how to identify it. My wife, Ricki, is in charge of that; she has a masterÔÇÖs degree and is nationally certified as a problem gambling counselor. WeÔÇÖve also built two mock hotel rooms to train hotel employees.ÔÇØ Employees are treated well, with a free meal in a dining room during their shift and a free massage before or after the shift. ÔÇ£The current economy is good for us, because fewer people are traveling on vacation,ÔÇØ says Haugen. ÔÇ£TheyÔÇÖre staying closer to home, and the hotel should attract some regional visitors. WeÔÇÖre planning another entertainment venue seating between 2,500 and 6,000, and we also own 250 acres across the street from the casino, which we intend to develop commercially and diversely. So every time we expand, weÔÇÖre creating jobs in construction, plus the extra people we hire on staff. EveryoneÔÇÖs happy now.ÔÇØ  ÔÇô Editorial research by Greg Petzold┬á