BLYN — The 7 Cedars Casino will expand this year with about 200 new slot machines — bringing the total to 750 machines — more table games, a wood-fired oven restaurant and an upscale bar.
Ron Allen, Jamestown S’Klallam tribal chairman and chief executive officer, said the renovation, originally planned last year, will take place from April to September.
“That will be a significant difference in the casino property,” he said.
The tribe plans to gut the bingo area to make room for “a couple hundred” slot machines and expand the building 30 feet to the east.
The 5,000-square-foot addition was originally planned to begin last March, but was delayed because of a shift in market conditions, said 7 Cedars Casino Chief Executive Officer Jerry Allen, Ron Allen’s brother.
“We looked at the economy and took a more cautious approach,” Jerry Allen said.
When the addition is finished, with all it will contain, the initial $7.5 million for construction is likely to have swollen to about $9.5 million, he said.
The renovation will include new rest rooms and a new casino pit for blackjack, roulette and craps.
The first 100 additional slot machines are expected to be installed as the addition is built, with the second 100 to be brought in within six months, Jerry Allen said.
Once all are in place, the casino will sport 750 slot machines — enough for the biggest demands of the highest-volume nights, he added.
Also in 2012, the tribe will make infrastructure improvements at its Blyn campus to prepare for larger projects in the future.
An events center and parking garage will be built near the casino in about two years, Ron Allen said.
In about five years, the tribe will build its much-anticipated resort and hotel near the casino.
“We have to deal with the infrastructure before we can move our larger projects forward, meaning the resort,” Ron Allen said.
Jerry Allen said the expanded casino will help pay for the seven-story resort and hotel.
The tribe has not set a definitive time line for the resort, but Jerry Allen said it will take about five years to generate enough revenue to build the kind of resort the tribe envisions.
Jerry Allen said the new restaurant at the casino will have a stone oven for wood-cooked steak, pizza and other favorites.
“We expect it to be a very well-rounded cuisine,” he said.
As for infrastructure, the tribe this year will install two large water tanks to triple the capacity for the Blyn community, Ron Allen said.
A small administrative building will be added to keep up with the growth of tribal operations.
The Jamestown S’Klallam tribe is in negotiations with Verizon for a new cell phone tower.
Within a few years, the tribe expects to expand the Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course northeast of Sequim.
Three new holes will be added on the east side of the course.
The new holes will serve as a golf academy for professional instruction.
Existing holes will be lengthened and water features will be added, Ron Allen said.
This summer, the tribe will again host the Sonny Sixkiller Celebrity Golf Classic, a University of Washington football-themed tournament, at the Cedars at Dungeness.
A dinner and auction will be held at the casino.
Sixkiller, a famous Husky quarterback in the early 1970s, was one of 32 legendary Husky players and coaches who participated in the inaugural event last summer.
Jerry Allen said this year’s tourney will feature more members of the Huskies’ 1991 national championship team.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
