The casino in 2014, after closing in 2012

The Old Camp Casino was a tribal casino near Burns, Oregon, United States, owned and operated by the Burns Paiute Tribe.

The "Old Camp" name refers to a tribal settlement that was located on the site in the early 20th century.[1]

History

The tribe had difficulty financing development of a casino due to the reservation's remote location, with only 7,000 people living within a 100-mile radius.[2][3] Out of four companies that responded to the tribe's 1997 request for proposals, the tribe selected Colorado-based Wolf Gaming to finance and manage the casino.[4] Later that year, however, Wolf Gaming went out of business.[5]

The tribe eventually secured a $930,000 loan from South Dakota-based Indian Gaming of America.[2] The tribe purchased the building itself for $180,000 from the Lummi Tribe, and moved it from northwest Washington to the Burns Paiute reservation.[6]

The casino opened in September 1998 with 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of space containing 75 slot machines, two poker tables, and a deli.[3] At opening, there were 53 employees.[3]

Another 100 slot machines were later added, while table games, proving unprofitable, were removed.[7]

The tribe closed the casino on November 26, 2012, due to safety concerns stemming from structural problems with the building.[8] The tribe said it would demolish the building and construct a new one, to be opened in spring 2013,[8] but as of October 2014, it had not opened.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Courtenay Thompson (July 15, 1997). "More small Oregon towns get tribal casinos". The Oregonian. Portland, OR – via NewsBank.
  2. ^ a b Courtenay Thompson (May 19, 1998). "Burns Paiute Tribe buys casino, works toward a July 4 opening". The Oregonian. Portland, OR – via NewsBank.
  3. ^ a b c Courtenay Thompson (August 14, 1998). "Burns Tribe gets on casino bandwagon". The Oregonian. Portland, OR – via NewsBank.
  4. ^ Courtenay Thompson (June 1, 1997). "Paiute Indians take a big gamble on casino". The Oregonian. Portland, OR – via NewsBank.
  5. ^ Courtenay Thompson (December 17, 1997). "Casino partnership plan collapses at the altar". The Oregonian. Portland, OR – via NewsBank.
  6. ^ "Old Camp casino opens". Indian Country Today. Oneida, NY. September 14, 1998. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015 – via HighBeam.
  7. ^ Winston Ross (July 16, 2006). "Gaming and gaining". The Register-Guard. Eugene, OR – via NewsBank.
  8. ^ a b Samantha White (November 28, 2012). "Casino closed temporarily". Burns Times Herald. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  9. ^ Jon Bell (October 22, 2014). "Shuffling the deck". Oregon Business. Retrieved 2015-03-11.

43°35′08″N 119°05′31″W / 43.585489°N 119.091926°W / 43.585489; -119.091926

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