20 years ago Ak-Chin Indian Community opened a casino and changed everything

The land was remote, dry and fewer than 22,000 acres in size, but for decades it sustained life for the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Despite a nearly 20-year struggle to gain reliable access to water, the community endured. Members transformed their designated parcel of land into stretches of growing gardens and productive fields. Families shared their harvests, and together they survived.

While life was never easy, it was simple – and for a while, it was enough.

But in the late 1980s, life began to change.

The falling prices of farm commodities and the community’s remote location in the Santa Cruz Valley created barriers to prosperity, driving people into increasing poverty.

“At first the funds were just not available, and we were doing the farming, and it wasn’t enough to support some of the programs we were running at the time,” says Leona Kakar, who has served as tribal council chairman and in other leadership roles since 1980.

So with an urgent need to raise money for their people, the Ak-Chin Tribal Council took a gamble.

They transformed 20 acres of hay fields into a casino, and after a nationwide search, selected Harrah’s to manage the new venture.

“We didn’t know anything about the casino business,” Kakar says. “We knew it made money here and there, and we thought it would be a way out, and it sure turned out right.”

A critical turning point

On Dec. 27, 1994 after nine months of construction, Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino opened its doors for business.

A grand opening celebration drew crowds from near and far looking for fun, entertainment and a chance to win big. 

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the casino, which has now proven to be a critical financial turning point for the Ak-Chin Indian Community and a vital contributor to the local and regional economy.

With a fast and steady infusion of cash, the Ak-Chin Indian Community expanded critical government infrastructure, ramped up the development of homes for community members and funded much needed social services, Kakar says. The casino also implemented a leadership development program, which prepares community members for high-level jobs in the casino and on the reservation.

The casino’s economic impact also extended outside the community, accounting for more than 1,094 jobs and generating more than $205.3 million in economic activity in 2010, according to a 2011 study commissioned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community and prepared by ESI Corporation.

The casino is one of the leading employers in western Pinal County and has brought external dollars into the region that have circulated back through the greater Maricopa economy, Maricopa Economic Development Director Micah Miranda says.

“People go to Harrah’s, spend money and the money then goes to employees and many of them reside and shop in Maricopa,” Miranda says. “Those dollars directly come in and contribute to the quality of life in Maricopa.”

Tribal Councilman Terry Enos says he and his community value the role the casino has played in his community and the region.

 “The choice that was made to be in the gaming world is a successful one … and has made an impact in contributions statewide and also our own self-sufficiency,” Enos says.

Celebrating casino-style

While the casino’s actual anniversary is still months away, management has kicked off a year-long celebration featuring what many players want most – more chances to win.

“We’ve got a monthly customer promotion … to remind everyone that it has been 20 years,” says Robert Livingston, casino vice president and general manager.

On Tuesdays in April, Harrah’s is holding a hot seat promotion, in which players are randomly selected to win hundreds of dollars in free slot play and the casino is organizing a direct mail promotion offering free play on Wednesdays. The casino also is preparing to display a traditional old coin-operated slot machine and other memorabilia. A larger celebration will be held closer to the anniversary, but Livingston says details have not yet been finalized.

The casino offers slot machines, video poker, video Keno, statewide progressives, live-action poker and black jack and also has the only bingo hall in the Caesars organization. 

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., which manages the business, operates casinos on four continents primarily under the brand names Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe.

“We are the only nationally branded casino entertainment in Arizona,” Livingston says.