The East Valley has a new jewel in its entertainment crown, and it’s making waves far beyond Chandler. This past weekend, after all the construction dust settled, Santan Mountain Casino finally opened its doors with a grand celebration south of Chandler, Arizona. Modern design merges cultural heritage with a fresh chapter for gaming in the state.
Chandler now has its own South Las Vegas, with this casino situated on Gila River Indian Community land just off the Santan Freeway at Kyrene Road. The $180 million project, undertaken by Gila River Resorts & Casinos, is not just a casino but a landmark for Arizona’s changing gaming landscape referred to by sources, including the East Valley Tribune, as both an ‘amazing opportunity’ and ‘a big deal.
Grand Opening Marks a New Era for Gaming in Valley
If you drive past Hunt Highway, at 7101 S Gilbert Road, you can easily notice the striking architecture. Inside, it is energetic – a spacious, light-filled gaming floor buzzes with activity. Here is where the term slots really makes sense — with 813 machines gleaming under soft lighting, this is the heart of the 33,000-square-foot gaming space. However, it’s not only that; it combines traditional favorites with cutting-edge features that makes the Santan Mountain Casino different and one offers an experience that bares likeness yet refreshing.
It’s more than just the lit-up and rotating symbols of a casino, as it signifies the very first one in Arizona to open its doors after the amended tribal gaming compact that broadened what services tribal casinos could offer, including legal sports betting. How else could one describe being within BetMGM’s 7,000-square-foot enormous sportsbook, the largest in Arizona, marveling at how modern technology could merge so warmly? One would feel like stepping into a modern sports lounge, only there are scores of betting kiosks lining up.
Features That Blend Innovation and Culture
All this is supplemented with a fascinating panorama of the surrounding areas. The design is minimalistic: the tint switches, the first white roulette wheel on the Old Continent. All is filled in by fine details that whisper about Gila River Indian Community’s vision behind this project. The artwork is made by community artists, whose color schemes reflect individual tribal districts. They are not just artistic but an expression of life with a living heritage making its immiscible presence felt in modernity, of daily use in an entertainment center…