Strange entrance design for $375 million Snoqualmie Casino on opening weekend |
If you’re thinking with the current state of the economy that the timing couldn’t be worse for opening a brand new casino along the interstate in Washington state outside Seattle, you wouldn’t know it by the size of the opening weekend crowd at Snoqualmie Casino (warning: sound onload).
Let’s skip over the fact that the website just linked has one of the most annoying navigation schemes ever. You move your cursor down and the page jerks down and up and it jumps in reverse. Why?! You hover over something and it expands and plays a mini-movie. Congrats to some Flash designer who likely got paid a bunch of dough to frustrate site visitors.
Stay with me, this trend continues offline as well.
Via Seattle PI:
A modest roadside casino — instead of a lavish, multimillion-dollar facility — would not have worked, [tribal administrator Matt Mattson] said.
"Given the socioeconomic status, the sophistication of the people who live there, we think that doing more and starting out with a high-level property instead of a roadside casino gives us a better opportunity to succeed.
Kara and I hopped in the car and drove 43 miles to check it out last night. As the PI article indicates, you can’t see any neon sign or hulking structure from the interstate.
The first thing that struck me as we pulled around the stylish looking casino and drove downhill to self parking in the back and underneath the casino was the lack of sidewalks. $375 million and no sidewalks from the rear parking to the front? Nope, your choice is to wait among the crowd for the elevators or make a perilous uphill walk on a narrow road not intended for pedestrians.
Seeing sandbagging around the drains is an odd sight. The landscaping behind the casino looks a bit like an ice cream cone in 130 degree weather.
Of the many terrestrial casinos visited over the years I’ve never seen such a poor design from parking lot to casino. Sure, it’s great if there aren’t tons of people waiting for an elevator (which on opening weekend there were). It’s just … strange.
It caused confusion with others too, and there was nobody around to explain how or why the only way into the casino from the self-parking was through a bank of three elevators servicing 5+ levels of garage parking plus a huge rear self parking lot. When saw people coming down the parking garage stairs complaining that there was no way to get into the casino from the stairs. The stairs just go up and down to the parking lot.
We were joined by others who said screw it to waiting for the elevators and took our chances walking up the road — and being honked at by a few cars.
So if you’re planning on going this weekend then don’t do what we did, use the valet parking around the front at the top of the hill. Valet is the only way to fly.
The casino has a pleasant look to it around the front but when you walk in you get the immediate feeling you’re in a sardine can. There isn’t nearly enough space in the aisles to walk and slot machines and gaming tables are way too closely spaced. We were thirsty for some kind of soft drink and were surprised there wasn’t any serve yourself drink stations.
There are several bars, including a big luxurious one in the center of the casino. There were long waiting lines at the restaurants. There wasn’t an overly casino smoky air to it which was a positive. Another positive: you can use cash in the machines and they have ticket redemption machines so you aren’t forced to go to the cashier or wait in line to buy tickets to use in the machines.
But what about the gambling
We retreated to the least busiest area of the casino toward the end near the ballroom. Kara stuck $20 in some Egyptian slot and I stuck $10 into something with 7s and a bonus game. My machine quickly swallowed the $10 of which I stuck another $20 … and then another $20. Meanwhile Kara got into a bonus game and cashed out with $70.
As I was about to see my $50 disappear, I hit five symbols which paid $40. Then I upped the bet to the maximum $2.50 per digital spin. About five or six spins later I got 15 free bonus games. At the end of the bonus round my $50 had been turned into $150. I added Kara’s ticket to mine and cashed out.
Went to the nearest cashier station and the cashier informed me that she didn’t have enough twenties and could only pay us in big bills. The big cage in the center of the casino could help us. No thanks, we went to the machine thinking that might give us twenties. Nope, it spit out big bills too. Good thing these machines double as bill breakers so we just slid a $100 bill back in and got five crisp twenties.
Getting out easier than getting in
We’d had enough.
We exited via the elevators. Surprisingly, only one single guy was leaving at the same time as us. The elevator waiting area was eerily quiet. The elevator indicator lights turned red and door opened. After a full elevator of new arrivals passed by we entered, pressed ‘5′ for the level of the parking garage and in seconds were whisked back to the parking garage. We exited, got in our car and snaked our way out of the parking garage.
Of all the casinos we’ve seen, I’m sure it’s well over 100, we’ve never seen a casino that was designed to be easier to leave than to enter but hey, maybe this strategy will work for them. Add to the fact that they didn’t seem to have any of the machines we like to play: Keno or Bingo. I didn’t even see any video poker machines. They have 1,700 slot machines, mostly the ones with five symbols and dozens of winning combinations, so if that’s your thing you might dig it. They also have a bunch of table games. I enjoy craps but the tables were hopelessly crammed.
Hey, it’s opening weekend, not taking away any points in this review for them being busy. More power to them for being busy. I don’t know if it was in anticipation of Jessica Simpson playing, that it was less than 24 hours after they opened, it was a Friday night, that it was new and other gamblers were curious or some combination thereof.
I do know the experience wasn’t for us.
We enjoy visiting new casinos but doubt we’ll be back to this one any time soon. It’s not often we can say that about a casino where we spend 30 minutes there and leave first visit winners. If you’re going to enter and exit a casino, leaving a winner is always a good thing. I’d sooner recommend Emerald Queen which is off I-5 or if you’re taking the ferry over the sound, try Clearwater Casino. Clearwater in particular is a good example of a smaller casino geared for big crowds. Both those casinos offer bigger aisles and can better handle large crowds.
Grade: C-
Did this post make you go hmm?
(14 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)
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I want to add on to your post because I was at Snoqualmie Casino last night as well. I was there with my sister to see Jessica Simpson. Lucky for you that you won money, my sis and I weren’t even able to sit down at a machine.
We got there for the 8PM concert at 6PM. We thought it was great to have 2 hours for us to grab a bite to eat, a drink, and play some slots before the show.
First thing after getting off the elevator (the fifth one to pass, with the weight alarm blaring) we decided the line for the buffet was quite long, so we jumped in. Half an hour later at 6:30, we had made it to the front of the line. But that didn’t mean we were granted entrance - no - at that point we were given a buzzer and told it would be about 35-40 minutes in addition to what we had already been waiting. Looking into the buffet you could see at least 50 empty seats, so the wait seemed odd. Nonetheless, we decided that was fine because we could grab a drink from the bar while we waited. We moved from the buffet line to the bar line.
Around 7:00 we were 1 person away from the bartender, who in the half hour since we got in line had served up 10 drinks. I have to say, the wasted student bartenders I have seen at frat parties were better than this woman and her co-workers. Right as we started talking to the guy waiting for his drinks our buzzer went off.
At 7:10 we each paid $30 to enter the buffet. The food was good, but they were out of food in a few different places. At this point I just wanted a drink, so I asked a beverage server where we could order cocktails. Her response: “I’ll send someone right over!”.
At 7:30 we were still looking around for a cocktail server, so I got up and went over to a waitress asking where there was a bartender. Again I was told she would send someone right over to my table. I said no, I would wait right there and she could bring someone to me. We had only 30 minutes at this point before the concert began. I started feeling bad for being rude, so I sat back down at my table - in eyesight of the spot a waitress was supposed to come to.
At 8:00, as the concert started, sister and I were still sitting in the restaurant. I finally caught the eye of a wandering cocktail server and called her over. My sister and I each ordered three drinks because we wanted to avoid having to track another waitress down. The lady took our order and said she would be right back. At 8:15 she returned, with 4 of our 6 drinks. The only thing missing was 2 shots of vodka which she said were ready and waiting and that she would be right back with. We handed her our credit card and decided to wait it out because we would only be missing the opening act of Jessica Simpson. At 8:45 I was getting very upset about the entire situation. The waitress was nowhere to be found. I got up and asked a server what I should do since I was already 45 minutes late for the concert (tickets for which we had paid $250) and the waitress still had my credit card. She said “oh, was it a capitol one card?”. Somewhat confused I said yes, and she replied
“Oh, yeah the waitress got lost and couldn’t find your table, let me go get her”.
I am thinking now that they were just never going to come back until we stood up and said something. I mean I have been a restaurant manager and this type of thing has NEVER happened before. I have never in my life encountered such horrible customer service. Well, 9PM rolls around, and we decide it is bullshit that nobody has returned. So we leave the restaurant.
As Jessica Simpson enters the stage at 9:30, our waitress walks in to the ballroom with the credit card, and asks for a signature. Since it was completely dark in the room and we were being asked to sign three different receipts, we told the waitress we would meet up with a bar manager after the show to discuss the situation. She said that would be fine and told us where to find the manager.
The show was GREAT. That redeemed everything else that had gone wrong during our visit. And then we left the ballroom to resolve our billing issues. We waited for half an hour in the bar after talking to two bouncers who were supposedly finding us a manager. Finally, we were told we would not be able to talk to a manager because she was busy. We told the bartender we weren’t going to pay the tab, and tried to leave.
When you are as upset as we were about our visit, you just want to be able to walk out. Instead, we were trapped in a room the size of most living rooms with 100+ other people trying to get on one of the 3 elevators. There was quite the uproar by guests wanting the option of a stairwell, only to be told there are no stairs accessible from the casino floor.
Is that legal? I’m sure that they have stairs that are just not open to the public unless there is an emergency, but from the way we were bounced between employees and never given any help I can’t believe that someone would be ushering people to the stairwells in the case of a fire. That place is a death trap, and I will never go back.
The only upside to the whole situation was that we got 2 free drinks each, and I didn’t spend a dime gambling because between all the lines we stood in, I never had a chance. Do yourself a favor, and visit a casino like Clearwater or Tulalip which offer first of all a better floor plan, and second of all a place to stay the night.
I can’t express my disappointment enough in the organization of this “grand opening”.
Comment by Hillary — November 8, 2008 @ 10:47 am PST
I first visited the new casino on Friday afternoon. I was taken back by the driveway to the parking garage. Very steep and not an easy drive. The self parking garage has a number of flaws and no directional signs on how to get into the casino. Once I found the elevator I didn’t know what direction to select, up or down. Again there are no signs! Very poor planning. The decor is beautiful if you can see it through the blue haze of smoke.
The slot machines are far too close together. If you need change, go to the cashiers cage and wait in line. Even without many people, as I saw on Sunday morning, the casino floor is overcrowded. I was to meet a group for breakfast but waited around for the disappointing buffet. We were told the buffet opened at 9 am. Upon arrival we found only one of the three elevators working. The buffet was closed and asking the help for when it would open, was a joke. NO BODY really knew!!!! I really should have left as some of our group did prior to eating. The buffet line started at 9:30am and started getting serious around 11am. We were told it would open in a few minutes. I wish I would have left! It opened about 11:40am. The line was huge running through the slots and along the wall to the main doors. I was told the charge was $14.95. Than another gent came out complaining how hard he had been working all during the night… I didn’t care, I’d been waiting a long time myself by now! This tall dude upped the price to $16.95! The food is NOT WORTH IT!!! None of the serving dishes were labeled! What looked like pork, I was told by one server, was veal. Most serving dishes were filled at first and were left empty the rest of the time!
During the waiting in the line I tried to play the slots but most of the machines where the line was were not working! Most of the table games I observed appeared to have very untrained dealers!
I strongly had the feeling nobody was in charge and nobody really cared. I never heard of one person making any big bucks. I saw a lot of people throwing their hands up in the air when asked a direct question. I never saw one person take charge and handle a potential problem. For a new venue it is sadly lacking in organization and staff that can give any answers.
Myself, I’ll be going back to the smaller casinos where I can park close to the door and I know the dealers know what the payout should be. I don’t need abuse, I desire entertainment.
Comment by Irene Fleet — November 12, 2008 @ 11:56 am PST
They do have video poker machines. Bartops with a ten cent minimum but two pair only pays one verses the more normal two coins. There are 9/6 dollar machines in the SW corner.
Comment by Henry — November 14, 2008 @ 4:54 pm PST
Damn, sounds like a total debacle. Looks like poor planning overall, from design to number of staff members needed.
Comment by jennifer — November 14, 2008 @ 5:22 pm PST
Yes, the elevators are certainly a problem. I was at the casino on Saturday afternoon of the opening weekend. The funniest part was, once the elevator actually made it to the casino level, and the seemingly dozens of people in the elevator were able to enter the casino, the elevator doors closed literally 5 seconds after the last person got out. So after two or three minutes of waiting NO ONE actually got on! Fortunately, the other elevators showed up soon thereafter.
I think it’s reasonable to expect some growing pains just after opening. The elevator problem won’t be easy to fix, but things like subpar service and not knowing prices/hours should probably be at least somewhat forgiven, because the employees were only on their first or second days on the job.
I thought the casino was very nice, although I agree that the aisles were smaller than they could have been.
After wandering around the casino to find a video poker machine, I finally found them in the “high limit slots” area in the corner. It was very, very disappointing that for some reason they chose to only have 10 or so video poker machines with reasonable odds. Again, maybe this is something that will change once they’ve been open for a while and they listen to guest comments. But who knows.
Comment by Kevin — November 21, 2008 @ 4:36 pm PST
As a local, I’ve been there twice now. Once for lunch, which was kind of fun. 15 bucks for all you can eat is a little pricey but not a bank breaker and the food was okay (the little tiramisu samples were delicious). And the gaming area wasn’t terribly crowded. Then again, Friday night was packed. One thing, the dance bar didn’t charge anything extra to get into, they gave out bracelets so you could get back in if it filled up? Kind of weird, first come first served I guess! It was stifling hot, a lot of people complained about the smoke odor although it didn’t bother me that much. On the positive sign, the slots seem to be paying very well! And, I felt the service was really excellent, there were some mistakes made but the staff bent over backwards to correct things and make sure things were resolved. I like it there, I look forward to the time when the newness wears off and the crowds thin out a little bit!
Comment by Andrea — November 23, 2008 @ 7:51 am PST
Casino designs that work in Las Vegas will work anywhere. Bergman, Walls & Associates were the architects for this casino, led by Joel Bergman. Their resume is deep and wide, in Las Vegas alone this company is the architect of record for the Paris Casino and Hotel, Treasure Island Casino, Caesar’s Palace, Trump Casino and the list goes on AND on. As far as the Clearwater Casino, Joel Bergman is also responsible for this one too. Impeccable. In regard to the Snoqualmie Tribes casino site topography, the facts are his company made the best of what they were given. As you may have noticed, Muckleshoot, Clearwater, Red Wind, the first Puyallup casino all have inaccessible sites. The Bureau of Indian Affairs learned the hard way, don’t allow tribes to build in the middle of large metropolitan areas. The Snoqualmies options for a site large enough to build a quality casino situated within their historic lands were limited. East of Lake Sammamish along the Mountains To Sound Greenbelt were their greatest challenges. They purchased what was available when they needed to purchase. So I give Bergman an A+ for effort and creativity. Not including a shuttle bus from the parking garage to the front of the casino on the weekends is a mistake though.
Incidentally, the interior design and machine floor layout is compliments of Yates-Silverman, Inc. Their client list and portfolio is equal to the architects. Foxwoods Casino and Resort:CT, Luxor Casino, Paris Casino and Hotel, New York New York, Excalibur all major casinos in Las Vegas. Plus, Clearwater also has to be thankful they hired the best in the business to help.
Granted everyone is entitled to their opinion. As far as the casinos design and execution this property would fit seamlessly anywhere in Nevada.
Next time, Snoqualmie tribe please don’t take all my money so quickly…Lower the price of a pack of cigarettes and Barozzi somehow budget in a loss leader, my suggestion is a better price on drinks or better yet lower price on the buffet.
Comment by Tom Splight — November 23, 2008 @ 8:21 am PST
Tom - this statement is factually inaccurate: “As you may have noticed, Muckleshoot, Clearwater, Red Wind, the first Puyallup casino all have inaccessible sites.”
No, no, no.
Clearwater has a parking garage right next door with direct casino access on the 4th floor. We’ve been there dozens of times and I can’t remember any time not being able to park on or near the 4th floor. Muckleshoot has a parking garage right next door to the casino and it’s a very short walk. The first floor is usually open there too. Red Wind just outside Yelm? Also has direct casino access from the elevator (floor 2, I believe, but maybe wrong on that one).
We totally disagree on the design being A+ for effort and creativity. If the design was so great why are the sandbagging the drains on opening day? The mountain of dirt will be a muddy mess in short order. This is Washington and it doesn’t take an experienced architect to know that water follows gravity. Creativity? Come on. Why are there no sidewalks for pedestrians along the TOO narrow road down to the parking lot? Why are there no stairs from the parking garage elevator area to the casino? Why is there no direct casino access? Why are the aisles inside the casino so small and cramped?
“In regard to the Snoqualmie Tribes casino site topography, the facts are his company made the best of what they were given.”
No way.
Comment by TDavid — November 23, 2008 @ 9:01 am PST
Well perhaps we need to revisit my first comment T. You seem to have taken things out of context to meet your opinion. I stated an indisputable fact the Snoqualmie Casino site is remote rural location. It’s built on a hillside. The topography of the site required Bergman to design a building with a parking structure. If there were many large sites to choose from and were available to the Snoqualmie Tribe in 2000 I suspect a steep hillside would not have been chosen. So Bergman designed and built a terrific building on a hillside.
Granted I jumped from talking about the parking problems at the Snoqualmie Casino to talking about the general location, i.e. it’s inaccessible location. The location comment had nothing to do with the location of parking structures. The segue should have been; no tribal casino since the Potawatomi Casino located at downtown Milwaukee Wisconsin has truly an urban site. To make it even more clear, the Snoqualmie Casino has the same crappy rural setting every other tribe has throughout the US. The Bureau of Indian Affairs sees to it.
I have never designed nor built any building larger than a dog house. My criticism of Joel Bergman would be as useful as a horn on an airplane. Your comment about the sandbagging the drains, seems to illustrate your lack of building large scale structures on a hillside in the Northwest. The sandbags were necessary to channel construction debris and material such as topsoil into catch basins. The name catch basin implies catching something: how about surface debris that would pollute surface water neighbors may depend on. There was another comment about the temporary plastic ground cover looking like a ice cream cone in 130 degree weather. Another brain surgeon. The temporary use sandbags are necessary to keep the topsoil from running downhill and polluting nearby streams and allowing newly planted ground cover to root itself. The tribe has probably spent a million dollars or more in mitigating the pollution problems caused by late season developments. I guess the old saying “No good deed is left unpunished.”
The master plan for the Snoqualmie Casino is in place, no other Tribe can say the same here in Washington State. Muckleshoot is a rambling Quonset hut, so much for “the biggest and best in the northwest.” Who would choose quantity of poor architecture over quality? Puyallup should try scraping their I-5 site. I remember when that first octagon building was a speed bingo site. The addition of rubber tents is a nice touch. I say start over.
Finally - one thing for the Snoqualmies - they have created a classy environment to try and make a gamblers experience a first class one.
PS The decision not to have sidewalks from the lower parking areas to the casino was based on the 450 feet change in elevation. Most healthy people cannot climb 450 feet without breaking a sweat. Visiting a casino is not intended to be a visit to Golds Gym. Let me cut you off at the pass, I suspect your next comment will be why no stairwells? Every business I know has administrative offices, casinos are no different. Would you encourage patrons to walk through your administrative offices of your business?
Comment by Tom Splight — November 26, 2008 @ 10:49 pm PST
Tom - Thank you for taking time to comment. I didn’t say that the first time around, but let me make sure you read that this time, especially given it’s a holiday time of year. I don’t wish to argue with you, rather to correct the facts.
With that said, I was not trying to do the following: “You seem to have taken things out of context to meet your opinion.” And I do respectfully request please that if you are going to quote me that you get the quote right.
You said: “There was another comment about the temporary plastic ground cover looking like a ice cream cone in 130 degree weather. Another brain surgeon.”
Now here’s what I actually wrote: “The landscaping behind the casino looks a bit like an ice cream cone in 130 degree weather.”
The unnecessary “brain surgeon” snark aside, I didn’t say anything about any temporary plastic ground cover. I don’t remember even seeing any temporary plastic ground cover. What I do remember seeing was a gigantic wet mound of dirt that literally looked ready to slide down the hill. It was a wet, ugly eyesore and very unusual to see on opening weekend of a $375 million casino.
Knowing no better, I will accept your explanation on the presence of the sand bags.
You wrote: “The decision not to have sidewalks from the lower parking areas to the casino was based on the 450 feet change in elevation. Most healthy people cannot climb 450 feet without breaking a sweat.”
Then there were several super healthy people there like us who said screw it to waiting for the three lone elevators and made the trek topside. I didn’t know these people and they certainly weren’t in our party. Also didn’t know the people walking up and down the parking lot stairs voicing their confusion (loudly) why there was no parking level direct access to the casino.
As for your question: “Would you encourage patrons to walk through your administrative offices of your business?”
Come on, Tom, let’s be real. When taking the elevator you are traveling vertically, not horizontally.
When the elevator doors open you are in a relatively small foyer that leads directly to the casino. What’s on the other side of the foyer wall opposite the casino level? A very small amount of empty space between the 5th level (or maybe it’s 4th or 6th, I don’t remember exactly which, so don’t hold me to the exact floor in your reply) of the parking garage and the casino.
They could (and should) have punched a hole in that wall and provided a walkway with direct access at that level. This way, those who wanted to go up the parking lot stairway at the corner would be able to do so and just walk in without any need for elevators on that floor. Additionally, there could have been clear signage in the parking garage that direct casino access was available on ___ floor.
Instead somebody (and I’m not fingering Mr. Bergman or his firm that you obviously highly respect, I have no clue who made this design decision) decided to force patrons to wait for one of three elevators. This design decision, whomever made it, is terrible. Bottom line, there is no administration area on the direct other side of that 5th level foyer at the casino level topside and there doesn’t appear to be any logical reason why direct access is not provided. Your explanation about convenience and administration areas, if this was truly their thinking (and I doubt seriously it was) is illogical.
But let’s skip logic and say they were concerned about patrons seeing or walking by their administration areas. It seems a lot more inconvenient and a gaping liability hazard to have patrons walking outside in the rain with no sidewalk and possibly be hit by traffic than to travel past administration offices in a hallway.
Furthermore, why is the concert area located at the slightly lower level than the entrance? They have a security guard posted out in the mega tiny parking lot there (which was roped off and had no cars parking there) telling people walking uphill that they must continue around to the front. Why not locate that on the opposite side and have an alternate entrance there? It boggles the mind why you make your patrons go up and around even further who have decided to make the walk.
It’s possible fire codes somehow dictated some of these seemingly bizarre decisions but on that note I seriously question the safety of people exiting that casino quickly should there ever be a fire (and naturally I hope there never is). There doesn’t appear to be enough exits in my totally non-designer, non-expert, non-fireman opinion.
At the end of the day, besides factually incorrect statements made and being corrected, it seems we might have to agree to disagree on the quality of the design. I’m standing by it being one of the worst designs for any casino I’ve ever seen — tribal casino or not — based upon the specifcs mentioned. Yeah, it’s located on a hill and that makes it tougher, I get that. But there are decisions that could have been made — could still be made, in fact — to make a difficult topographical location work better.
Have a nice turkey day
Comment by TDavid — November 27, 2008 @ 1:01 am PST
Hmmmm…the comments here DO NOT give me much of an incentive to head east to visit this casino!
The barrage (or however ya spel it!) of comments between Tom and Tdavid seem to be personal somehow…like they have had words elsewhere.
Bottom line, I doubt I’ll be spending any time at this casino.
Hey Feet First….are ya watching???
Comment by MissBeth — December 29, 2008 @ 2:43 pm PST
Hi MissBeth - I don’t know Tom any better than you, so you can rest assured there is no history beyond what you see here
Just someone who stopped by and left his 2 1/2 rusted pennies. All non-spammy feedback is welcome whether people agree, disagree or are neutral. I hope you’ll peek at some other posts. Thank you for reading.
Comment by TDavid — December 29, 2008 @ 3:33 pm PST
I have to say I truly had a great time while I was there! I love the place. I was there the Sunday morning after the grand opening at about 8AM. It was confusing finding the parking garage as there were no signs giving direction to either outside parking or the garage. I did have an elevator issue and walked to the top floor only to find that I still had to wait for someone to fix the elevator door so I could continue my journey to the casino. I had a great time with lots of slots I’ve never played before and all seemed to payout often enough to keep me there all day. Chose not to eat there to spendy for a deli sandwich $15. Left with lots of extra money and hoping the weather stays good so I can go back this weekend. I choose it over Tulaip but I haven’t won anything there for so long I won’t go back.
Comment by Carol Goldsmith — December 31, 2008 @ 9:52 am PST
Actually, things are running a great deal smoother now. As for having an entrance from the parking garage, if you look at the buttons in the elevator, you will notice that it lists all the floors in the garage then “S” (which stands for service, IE employees only floor) then above that floor is the casino level. Also, if you look at the casino from the back, you can see Club Sno which has the balcony sticking out 2 floors above the top level of the garage. Just some insight for those who are unaware. Also, for those who were there for opening weekend: If you are going somewhere to see Jessica Simpson on opening weekend, you should expect the place to be PACKED and that there will be some flaws and delays (as there has been no time for learning from mistakes) perhaps you could have brought cash or visited one of the many ATMS available almost every twenty feet or so. Remember, it was your first day the night Jessica Simpson was there…it was only the staff’s second day. Give them a break.
Comment by LMA — January 7, 2009 @ 6:12 pm PST
Somebody needs to do some measuring here because the parking lot to the casino isn’t anywhere near a 450 feet change in elevation (maybe somebody forgot a decimal point some where). Even Mount Si is only around around 440 feet.
I haven’t been to the Casino yet but I’m betting I don’t have to climb 450 feet to get there
Comment by Edward — January 8, 2009 @ 3:41 pm PST
Maybe Edward has been at the Sno Lounge too long….Mt Si is 4150 feet in elevation…..
Comment by tomsplight — January 9, 2009 @ 11:14 pm PST
I’m just excited to visit. My hubby and I are going on 2/14 for our wedding anniversary and have reservations at Terra Vista Restaurant. We learned ages ago to NEVER go to a new casino on grand opening weekend or at any time during the first two months. You’re just asking for problems. We have made a game of visiting as many casinos as possible in our travels and this will make well over 100. Since we live in the area, we feel fortunate to be within driving distance of so much fun. Casinos all the way! No matter how they’re set up!!! :0) Allison
Comment by Allison — January 14, 2009 @ 2:14 pm PST
January 27, 2009
I drove out there from Seattle yesterday afternoon just to check it out and take a drive in the sun. I am not into gambling. I also found it cramped with the tables too close together and restrictions as to where we could walk.
The first thing I notices as I entered the main area after getting off the elevator was the OVERWHELMING TOBACCO STENCH! I almost turned around and walked out right then and there. I decided to see if they had a non-smoking area instead and was told there was an area near the back. I went to that area and found nothing. I then asked a dealer at a card table where I could find roulette and she told me there were two tables open near where I had been. I asked about a non-smoking one. She said something about one not being open yet. She was unable to explain what this meant. I complained about the smoke and she said she has asthma and it is not bad. I just walked away in amazement.
I then found the two roulette tables that were open and soon left after finding it impossible to handle the all pervasive smoke. I did not gamble or purchase anything. I then found it difficult to find my way out. I finally found the three small elevators and left. I saw no stairs or any way to locate them. I fully agree that this place is a complete fire trap.
I will not return.
Comment by Mark — January 27, 2009 @ 11:44 am PST
My husband and I visited your casino twice and both times were overcome by smoke. Your ventilation system is to inadequate to displace all of the smoke
that accumulates. We did, however enjoy your buffet especially with the all you can eat crab. We also noticed that you add and remove machines occasionally.
Why don’t you have a bank of Lucky Lemmings for our fun and excitement?
Comment by Sue — February 8, 2009 @ 1:34 pm PST
That’s great most of you enjoyed the casino. Now that it’s been open for a while (it’s march2009) i’m sure some of these kinks have been ironed out. BUT what hasn’t been ironed out is the management. It’s been a constant upheaval and blind leading the blind. Abuse of the staff, (esp minorities natives included), Natives fired from their jobs because there is no Native priority in their OWN CASINO!, sexual harassment is allowed to go on as if nothing happens, taking peoples position without justification or notification (even though they’ve gotten excellent reviews), on and on. If you’re thinking about working here DON’T. You will NOT get the pay promised, you will be jerked around,and you will eventually probably have to go to a therapist to get over all the abuse you’ll receive.
Comment by Darlene — March 17, 2009 @ 12:14 am PST
I’ve only been once. Fully agree with the stupid layout of having to take an elevator and no other options to reach the casino.
Something I ran into that i’ve never had a problem with at another casino…..if you have less than a dollar you can’t get a slot ticket. Thusly if you only have 95 cents to spend…you can’t spend it. That is kind of dumb but i guess that goes against their “high class” image that they want to have…but what if you’re someone who wants a bunch of 95 cent tickets?
I didn’t eat at the buffet because it was way to expensive….I did have a burger that was pretty good at the deli near the buffet.
I think, based on the layout, it’s more about everything but the gambling….
also i noticed, on a sunday, there were no cheap minimum bet blackjack, or anything for that matter, tables….They did have a couple of five dollar tables that turned into ten dollar tables a couple of hours later.
never am i unable to find a 3 dollar table at emerald queen….just saying
I will probably go back a few times but there’s not really anything i liked about the place….well maybe my hamburger
Comment by jah — April 3, 2009 @ 8:40 pm PST
In multiple trips out there, we’ve observed the following:
- Cigarette & Cigar stench is pretty bad. Like a trip back to a 70’s era bar. Watch closely when walking the narrow asiles - my wife got a nice cig burn in her skirt from a patron holding a cigarette down low while mindlessly punching the machine in front of him.
- On weekends, there are no blackjack tables below $10 minimum. During the week, we’ve seen (and played) $5 tables
- The large concert venue is a low-ceiling hotel-like meeting room with rows of chairs packed in. Not the greatest place to rock out, but at least they don’t permit smoking in there during a concert.
- The smaller night-club bar & stage is a very nice venue for concerts. We saw Dave Mason perform there and it was comfortable with good sound system. The older crowd for this artist didn’t smoke so it was tolerable in the venue.
- When crowded, you either can’t get to a table game or you have to pony up for the high stakes tables. This is not a place for casual entertainment unless you’ve got money to blow or you enjoy the mind-numbing video slots. (I personally find that watching grass grow is more entertaining than video slots). Most of the gaming here is video slots. Weekday nights, you may have a shot at getting a seat at one of the very few $5 blackjack tables to have some affordable fun.
- Weekdays, they run $25 Midi Baccarat tables.
- There’s a couple small entertainment/ bar areas where jazz musicians or other small acts might play, and soft drinks are free. Nice respite, but smoke stench still pervasive.
I’d go back for week-night concerts in the small venue, but I’ve written this place off as a good weekend entertainment value. If you’re a smoker, you’ll probably like it but the stench is just too much for me to stay there very long.
Comment by yasure — April 9, 2009 @ 9:40 am PST
I actually liked the casino, it wasn’t the best but I would give it a higher grade than a C-. A B- maybe instead. I still think nothing beats gambling online at home. I don’t even have to get dressed to do it lol!
Comment by Talia P — May 28, 2009 @ 3:24 pm PST
Good review, I am meant to be staying there next month… I have heard its pretty nice until now! You have me scared now :O
Comment by Dave — June 16, 2009 @ 1:56 am PST
I guess the management of Snoqualmie Casino should do something about the casino problems, they should maintain a good facilities for the visitors and should be more attentive to the needs of guest. Above all, if they can’t do something about it they will loss potential customers.
Comment by Nami Dalufin — July 1, 2009 @ 1:26 am PST