6 MAY 1, 2005
Smoke Signals
MAY 1, 2005
Smoke Signals 7
S T M
slew
g
Many thanks plus an appearance by "cousin" Jay Leno spotlight
the Tribe's twin specialties: hospitality and entertainment.
L i
0
Photos by Toby McClary
Jay Leno
By Ron Karten
Gratitude was the center
piece of the Tribe's dedica
tion for the 163-room addi
tion to the Spirit Mountain Lodge.
With rain coming down all day Sat
urday, April 23, the dedication was
held indoors in the lodge's recon
structed lobby. The fire was roar
ing in the fireplace as a wall-to-wall
collection of staffers, guests,
press and others crushed for
ward to see the ribbon cutting,
and just maybe, to get a
glimpse of Jay Leno, The To
night Show host who was to
perform at the casino that
night.
"With this lodge expansion,"
said Tribal Chairwoman
Cheryle Kennedy, "we bolster
the (valley's) economic land
scape." Ten years ago, when the
Tribe opened the casino, "our
primary goal was to provide
superior service," said
Kennedy. "Because of our suc
cess we have been able to ex
pand." Following came thanks to
many who made the expansion
possible. They included
former Interim General
Manager Mike Larsen,
new casino General Man
ager Randy Dugger, Finan
cial Officer Larry Kovach and
Tribal Attorney Rob Greene,
Kennedy passed the micro
phone to Tribal Vice Chair
Reyn Leno, who continued
with thanks to Project Manager
Ron Sabatini, Facilities Manager
Ron Reibach, Maintenance Admin
istrative Assistant Denna Diaz,
Maintenance Supervisor Lou
Younger, Lodge Manager Wayne
Miller, Lodge Room Manager
Sharon Hall, Guest Services Man
ager Diana George, Surveillance
Director Steve Bobb and Surveil
lance Tech Manager Tracv
Ivan Karpman, Contractor
Howard S. Wright, the en
gineers and architects who
contributed, with special
thanks to building inspec
tor Ted Darling, a friend of
the Tribe's who passed on
recently.
Tribal member Jan
Michael "Looking Wolf"
Reibach opened the cer
emony with a flute rendi
tion of "Dragonfly." Tribal
Elder Kathryn Harrison of
fered the official blessing on
the expansion.
A very unassuming Jay
Leno stepped up to the mi
crophone to receive gifts
from the Tribe: a
myrtlewood clock, a beaded
Tribal logo pin and a Tribal
leather jacket.
"My wife is Iroquois," said
Leno as he looked at the
beaded logo. "I will wear
this when I'm riding my mo
torcycle," he said.
"And my cousin will help
me put it on," he joked, re
ferring to Reyn Leno who
was presenting the gifts, and the
Leno last name shared by many
here in Grand Ronde.
"This is fun," he added, "because
it is not Las Vegas."
Portland retirees, "K" and "K"
Peterson, were among guests who
stopped to see the ribbon cutting on
their way to the slots. "We stay here
two times a month," said Mrs.
Peterson, "and in December we
were here five times."
' 1
Howerton, Purchasing Manager She said it is exactly 66 miles from
v I ',mtr I I .
-T '..'
r t- " : : J. '' ':
Cozy This is one of the 1 2 suites each with a flat screen television featured in the expansion of Spirit Mountain Lodge.
Designer Digs Pictured here is a look at
the carpet on the second floor of the new lodge
expansion. The Spirit Mountain Casino logo and
other Native American themes can also be seen
woven into the carpet on all of the different levels.
her driveway to the Spirit Moun
tain Casino.
"And we'll be back for my birth
day, May 22," said Mr. Peterson.
"If the machine's pay," added Mrs.
Peterson. "I love Money to Burn."
The first of the new rooms opened
April 5, said Randy Dugger, with
the remainder opening April 15.
With 240 standard rooms and 14
2-room suites now available for
guests, Dugger noted that all have
been full on weekends since open
ing. "We're shooting for 80 percent
occupancy for the first year," he said.
Coyote Club members will enjoy
a two-month, May-June promotion
pricing rooms at $69 a night.
Following the ceremony, inter
ested parties were treated to light
hors d'oeuvres and a tour of new
rooms, including both single and
two-room suite.
"It shows the Tribe's commitment,
and faith in the Spirit Mountain Ca
sino," said Tribal Council member
Chris Mercier. "We're devoting our
energies to making the Spirit Moun
tain Casino a prime destination."
The addition also included a new
gift shop in the Lodge lobby where
the front desk used to be. The front
desk moved to the back of the lobby
on the new rooms side of the hall
way. Whether for the opening of the
new rooms or the opportunity to see
Jay Leno live, the place was packed.
In the parking lot, a bright blue
Ford Focus inquired about how long
a sharp black Toyota Celica in one
of the lot's farthest back spaces was
going to idle before pulling out.
"There's just no place to park,"
said the Ford Focus. D
...... - - - ,r i i
Rooms With A View The $22 million lodge expansion project is 155,000 square feet and includes a bell hop service, 24-hour front desk assistance, housekeeping
and a security-patrolled parking lot. Coyote Club members will receive discounted room rates. Each room contains a desk, cable TV, an in-room safe, a coffee maker, a
multi-faceted phone, an iron and ironing board and a hair dryer. Many of the rooms on the west side will feature a view of forested hillsides and beautiful sunsets.
$22 Million Lodge Expansion Creates Excitement At Spirit Mountain Casino
Smoke Signal's reporter Toby McClary caught up
with Spirit Mountain Lodge Manager Wayne Miller
just prior to the dedication of the lodge's expansion
for a quick interview to ask him about the Tribe's lat
est economic endeavor and the buzz it's created.
V .a-
0
Wayne Miller
By Toby McClary
Smoke Signals: Is there anything un
usual or interesting in the design or con
struction (of the lodge) that the public
would want to know?
Wayne Miller: Just that we've got 12 new
suites. They are Jacuzzi suites, they have
Jacuzzi tubs and a shower, plasma screen tvs
and the west side has an incredible view of
the coast range. A beautiful view, they'll get
super sunsets.
S.S.: Did you stick with the same Na
tive American theme for each room?
W.M.: Oh yeah, when you see the hallway
carpeting, you'll see the Spirit Mountain logo
on the door entrances and Native American artifacts woven into the
rugs at the elevators. It's beautiful, it's very beautiful.
It's a hotel for a casino. It's gonna be comfortable. There will be four
game rooms for the table games people who want to take a couple hour
break off of the table, maybe have a little rest or shower before they go
back to play. There is also gonna be a continental breakfast room which
will be serving a free continental breakfast in the mornings from 7:30
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. There is a business center with high speed internet.
We'll have one computer in there and three other hook ups for people
that want to bring their own computers. There will be a fax and a copy
machine. And there is a small business meeting center there for about
eight to 10 people. We anticipate it being utilized quite often.
S.S.: Can you tell me about the Native American companies
or individuals that have played a significant role in the construction?
W.M.: Howard S. Wright and Cherry City Electric have all had Na
tive American hiring preferences. There have been several of the Tribal
members working on this project, there are several still working on it
and we are in the process of trying to source right now some artists to
finish off the murals at the front desk.
S.S.: What have been some of the economic benefits for the
community due to the expansion?
W.M.: For the local economy, we are hiring approximately 35 more
employees to run this and that will increase the payroll in this area
significantly. The major economic benefit is going to be the gaming
and the amount of people that we can hold here overnight or several
nights that are gonna enjoy the amenities and the excitement of Spirit
Mountain Casino.
S.S.: What's next for Spirit Mountain Lodge?
W.M.: Trying to keep the rooms filled right now. I think our mfor
focus is going to be on marketing this lodge, bringing back a lot of the
players that we couldn't accommodate when we only had 100 rooms.
It's an upgraded facility now, it's going to be much more attractive and
we've got room for more people. So on the whole, we're pretty excited
about that.
S.S.: Were there any environmental considerations that you
had to take in to account for the project?
W.M.: The major environmental problems were addressed earlier in
the project and that was the water situation. We finally got access to
enough water that we could build this large property. When the Tribe
developed there own water treatment system and took the demand off of
the community system, then it was full steam ahead.
S.S.: Who were the construction companies, the architects
and any other major contributing companies and what city are
they from?
W.M.: Howard S. Wright Construction Company was the main con
struction company and they are worldwide, but this particular crew
was based out of Portland. The architects were the Friedmutter Group,
Inc. out of Las Vegas. They are very well known in the casino business.
They've done a lot of casino architecture. And then our own local Cherry
City Electric has done all of the electrical connections and they are
putting in all of the new generators. Various subcontractors have been
working (on the expansion) from around the area.