EL CAJON (CBS 8/CNS) - The Sycuan Tribal Council broke ground Tuesday on an 11-story hotel and casino expansion project at its East County reservation.
The $226 million development will include a 300-room hotel, a 12,000-square-foot ballroom and more gaming space. Also planned are a pool with a lazy river, a separate pool for adults, a 1 1/2-acre garden, and new restaurants and bars.
The 33-year-old casino currently is 90,000 square feet, with 2,000 slot machines, more than 40 gaming tables and a poker room. The facility also includes a concert venue and five restaurants.
"We're gonna always have bingo, so we're going to have a lot of those amenities that people have become accustomed to, they're gonna stay," said Tribal Chairman Cody Martinez.
Martinez said that customers now expect amenities beyond the gaming tables.
"The Southern California gaming experience is one that you can stay overnight at a property,'' Martinez said. "You do have food and beverage offerings -- it's not just about gaming, it's about entertainment, it's about experience.''
Sycuan doesn't operate a hotel on its casino property, unlike established East County competitors Barona and Viejas. Sycuan does offer a hotel at its golf resort, which is at a nearby, but separate property.
Martinez admitted to friendly competition among nearby Indian bands.
"The relationship between all of the tribes, gaming or not, goes back way beyond gaming for hundreds of years we thousands of years in this community family ties so business is business but our ties are stronger than that," he said.
The relatively new Hollywood Casino in Jamul doesn't have a hotel.