After breaking ground back in 2017, the Tulalip Tribes of Washington have announced the grand opening of their new Quil Ceda Creek Casino will take place on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.

A ceremonial blessing will lead the celebration, to be followed by the doors opening to the public at 10am at what is the Northwest’s newest major gaming, dining and entertainment destination.

The existing Quil Ceda Creek Casino, which first opened on September 29, 2004, will close permanently on the same Wednesday, at 2am.

Enhanced offering:

Interim Executive Vice President for Quil Ceda Creek Casino, Belinda Hegnes, commented about the long-awaited opening in an official press release. …

“We can’t wait to show guests what we mean when we say there will be ‘More to Love’ in their gaming, dining and entertainment experience.

“We’ll continue to provide the friendly, casual guest experience we’re known for, but now in a larger facility with more room to enjoy all that we offer.”

Originally, the new casino was expected to open in spring 2019. The original news release also reported that the tribes had decided to add a 150-room hotel to the project, which would include meeting rooms, a VIP business lounge, pool, spa and a catering kitchen, and the new casino was to be called Quil Ceda Creek Casino Hotel.

Property details:

Spanning 126,000 square feet, the much-anticipated no-smoking, no-vaping casino is situated on 15 acres of Tulalip Tribal land located at 6221 31st Ave NE, directly off I-5 at exit 199 and replaces the existing casino, which is less than half the size, located just across the street.

In addition to an expanded main casino and entertainment venue, visitors can expect more dining options, including…

…a new Food Hall, along with a six-story parking garage. Specifically, the casino floor includes 1,500 gaming machines, 500 more than the existing casino offers, and 16 table games, which reflects the addition of three new tables and new games. One of the new dining experiences, “The Kitchen,” will be located in the Food Hall and serve various made-to-order dishes around the clock, while the full-service, a la carte, “The Landing,” will serve classic favorites.

Open 24/7, the facility’s new kitchens will reportedly be the region’s first to “fully incorporate energy-saving windspeed and induction cooking technologies,” while menu items will feature local ingredients from the region’s suppliers and prepared with the latest “green cooking” techniques.

The property’s expanded entertainment offering will include live music and huge, state-of-the-art video walls for sports viewing, and other popular events. Finally, there is a new six-story, 1,000-stall parking structure that has 700 more spaces than the existing casino, along with more surface parking and charging stations for electric automobiles. For enhanced ease of access to the new casino, the Tulalip Tribes have completed new street improvements.

While no smoking or vaping will be allowed, the new Quil Ceda Creek Casino will reportedly provide designated smoking areas for guests who choose to do so.

Health and safety guidelines:

Also noted in the Tribes’ press release…

“The new casino will continue to safeguard the health and safety of guests and team members with multiple programs: limited capacity, guests and team members are required to wear properly fitting masks, no-touch temperature checks performed upon entry, social distancing, aggressive deep cleaning procedures, and entertainment areas closed based on COVID-19 guidelines.”

Flagship casino:

Originally called, Tulalip Casino, the current Quil Ceda Creek Casino is located at 6410 33rd Ave NE, Tulalip and is the smaller of the tribe’s two casinos, with the larger, Tulalip Resort Casino, featuring a 10-floor, 370-room hotel and a 200,000 square foot gaming floor. The resort property was built in 2004 and is located at 10200 Quil Ceda Blvd, Tulalip, just three miles north of the new casino. While the majority of the Quil Ceda Creek Casino’s customer base is of the local variety; many of the larger casino’s customers are regional and come from the West, like Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle.