The latest Tohono O’odham-owned casino has opened in Arizona. By Ryan Slattery
Once again, the Tohono O’odham Nation has expanded its casino empire in Arizona. In December, the tribe opened Desert Diamond Casino White Tanks, located near the Northern Parkway and Loop 303, west of Glendale, Arizona. It’s the Nation’s fifth casino operation in the state.
From ground-breaking to opening, the $450 million project took just 19 months to complete, creating more than 5,500 construction jobs along the way. White Tanks features a 184,000-square-foot casino floor with 900 slot machines, a poker room, sports book, and two separate, high-limit areas for slot players and table games. In addition, there are several restaurants on the property, including a Morton’s Steakhouse.
While the casino is open, there is still more to be done. An expansion is already in the works. Mike Bean, until recently the CEO of Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, says White Tanks will expand to include a 350-room hotel with a spa and outdoor pool, a conference center, retail, and an entertainment district with an amphitheater. Casino Life caught up with Bean, who discussed the property and expansion plans.
How did you celebrate the grand opening?
We had an invitation-only ribbon-cutting ceremony. The first portion of the day was exclusive to members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, along with some local dignitaries, so they could get a preview and be the first to see the facility before it opened to the public.
How long was this property in the works?
It was pretty quick, a little over a year and a half. That being said, we started with our initial research on the size and scope to determine what it should look like, based on demand and to work out what the gaming and non-gaming amenities would be. Then we came up with an estimated cost, asked the architects to bring that to life and took it to the builders to start construction. That took about nine to 12 months before ground-breaking. We needed to prepare to make sure that the building was right. That it’s appropriate for the site and for the market. We believe that the area is going to grow, so we had to mix getting it right for today but planning for tomorrow.
When you say appropriate for the site, what do you mean?
We have a site locals know as Northern Avenue and 303. So we were making sure we had it situated in the right spot but also the right size and scope. For example, do we build a two million-square-foot facility or do we build a 500,000-square-foot facility? We studied the market to figure out what it needed to look like, based upon today’s demand and how we think the area is going to grow.
This is the fifth property for the Tohono O’odham Nation, correct?
Yes, this is our fifth. With Phoenix being the fifth-largest city from a population standpoint in the United States, we have two in the market there. We also have two in the Tucson area and the fifth casino is west of Tucson in southern Arizona.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Desert Diamond brand, tell us what they’re all about.
We look at trying to get our guests in Arizona to have an opportunity to game at all or any of our properties as they deem appropriate. We have a single-card loyalty program so you can use your loyalty card at any of our casinos and earn points, earn rewards at any of them, and redeem at any other casino. Our goal is to keep our loyal guests loyal, and provide them with individual service where we know their name and they’re familiar with our properties, regardless of which one they’re at.
Image: Mike Bean, former CEO of Desert Diamond White Tanks
This property is in an area called White Tanks. How important is that region to the Nation?
Well the Nation has ancestral roots and connections with the White Tank Mountains. As you travel from our West Valley property, you take one route – which is Northern Avenue straight out – and as you get closer, you see the casino and the White Tank Mountains clearly in the background. It’s not only the ancestral roots associated with the Tohono O’odham Nation, but also White Tanks is a locator – people have a general idea where the casino is, based on the name.
You’ve referred to White Tanks as an economic engine for the area. What do you mean by that?
Jobs are always a big thing. We created a thousand new jobs for White Tanks. As an organization, we’re a little bit under 4,000 total jobs. Also, during the construction process we created about 5,500 construction jobs, so that is something that helps stimulate that part of the West Valley.
Let’s talk about the property and start on the gaming side. How large is the casino and what type of slots or table games do you have?
We have 900 slot machines and that’s the maximum we can have under the compact with the state of Arizona. It’s a very nice and spacious floor. We have 30 table games with six more table games in a very beautiful, high-limit room and we have a poker room on top of that. But we have all the traditional table games: blackjack, roulette, craps – all the popular ones. We also have a very nice high-limit slots and table games rooms behind a VIP lounge. Both the slots side and the table game side have separate entrances into the VIP lounge. From a gaming standpoint, it’s light and airy. All of our a la carte restaurants have indoor/outdoor seating with collapsible glass to take advantage of the often-very-nice Arizona weather. We have both misters and heaters out there as well, if we need to tweak the temperature a little bit.
Image: Mike Bean (second from right) with members of the Tohono O’odham Nation
There are several restaurants on the property. Can you walk through all the dining options?
Absolutely. As you enter the casino, we have an elevated, center bar where you can enjoy gaming or just have a cocktail with friends. From here you can see 360 degrees around the casino and figure out, ‘Okay, where do I want to go next?’ That could be Pub Stop, which we run ourselves. It’s our mid-range-priced, high-energy, large bar, entertainment-on-the-weekend place that opens up to the outdoors where there’s an area where we can have more entertainment. We also have Morton’s Steakhouse.
It’s their latest and greatest. The sports book bar has massive TV screens and we have a five-venue Food Hall, where we have four eateries, one being Deli-sh, which is a deli but also serves pizza. We have a venue called Taqueria Ville for Mexican food, Chuck’s is our burger place and Spitfire has rotisserie chicken. And then we have Libations, which is a bar within the food court that serves both alcoholic drinks and made-to-order juice drinks.
Is Pub Stop a sports bar?
It’s a hybrid. If you want to see any game, you’re likely to be able to find it at the sports bar, but it’s more like a pub where we have sports playing. We don’t have as many TVs as the sports book but it is certainly a large bar .
How big is the sports book?
It’s about 10,000 square feet.
Do you have a partner to help run operations?
No, throughout the existence of sports betting in Arizona – which hasn’t been terribly long compared to other parts of the country – we have maintained sports betting under our own brand so our customers can earn points on sports bets, much like betting slots or table games.
Why was it important to bring in a well-known anchor restaurant like Morton’s Steakhouse?
We always like to have a nice mix between branded and self-run restaurants. Within the high-end steak category, we believe Morton’s is among the most well-regarded brands. Our guests generally come in groups and there’s always a decision-making process to say ‘Where do we want to go?’ We always want to be on that list of choices. So when someone says, ‘Let’s go to Desert Diamond,’ we want there to be something for everyone. Morton’s fits into that. We want to have everyone say ‘I'll go there because there’s something for me.’ Not everyone is into gaming but they might come to have a glass of wine at Morton’s while their friends play. We want to avoid the veto vote where someone says, ‘I don’t want to go, there's nothing there for me.’ Morton’s is one additional thing that provides, not only an elevated experience, but helps with the decision-making process to get people to come more often and stay longer.
There’s already an expansion in the works?
We look toward growth to continue to drive revenue and returns to the Tohono O’odham Nation, which is one of the two main purposes of the gaming enterprise. One is to optimize returns to the Nation and the other is to provide jobs to Nation members. But with regard to driving revenue, growth matters. We looked at how we could execute our long-range vision to get more people from further distances to visit us more often and stay longer. What we can do about that from a development standpoint is add a hotel or hotels to our casinos. That provides us with that ability to get those people from further distances to visit and stay overnight, so we can grow our market geographically.
In terms of growth, the next sequence will be a 450-room hotel at our West Valley property, which is not the newest property [White Tanks] we have been talking about, but it is our flagship property. There will be a 450-room hotel with three pools, a beautiful spa overlooking the pool, at least 30,000 square feet of meeting-and-convention space, additional retail, a rooftop bar and restaurant on the nineteenth floor. You’ll be able to see downtown Phoenix from there. And there will be two additional food outlets. We believe that’s an appropriate size for an addition. We don’t have the timing yet but that’s something on our radar.
At the White Tanks property, we have programmed a 350-room hotel addition, with similar amenities as I described for West Valley. We do have some land at the White Tanks property that would allow for an entertainment district, which we are looking into as well.
***This exclusive feature interview was originally published in Casino Life Magazines March 2025 edition Issue 175***
