| Angel of the Winds Casino Resort | |
| Pushpin Map: | Washington |
| Coordinates: | 48.2144°N -122.1847°W |
| Address: | 3438 Stoluckquamish Lane Arlington, Washington, U.S. |
| Casino Type: | Indian |
| Owner: | Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians |
| Renovations: | 2008, 2015 |
Angel of the Winds Casino Resort is a casino and hotel operated by the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians near Arlington, Washington, United States. The casino opened in 2004 east of Interstate 5 and was initially in a modular building until an expansion in 2008. A 125-room hotel opened at the site in 2015 alongside additional gaming space.
The Stillaguamish Tribe, a party to the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, became federally recognized in 1976, but lacked a reservation and had limited revenue from small commercial ventures.[1] In November 2002, the 200 member tribe announced plans to build a casino under the states's enhanced tribal gambling law passed two years earlier.[2] The selected site, on the tribe's trust lands along 35th Avenue Northeast near Interstate 5 west of Arlington, drew backlash from nearby residents concerned about traffic impacts and the loss of the area's rural character.[2] The Tribe planned to demolish 30 homes on a 20acres property it owned, asking members living there to relocate with property buybacks. Plans called for the use of a controlled burn by the Bryant Fire Department to raze the site, allowing firefighters to train during the demolition, but the proposal was withdrawn.[3] [4] The $36 million casino project was initially planned to be funded by a loan from a Las Vegas investor though a Michigan pension fund,[5] but the investor's refusal to submit documents to the Washington State Gambling Commission delayed the project indefinitely in May 2003.[6]
A $19 million loan from the Marshall Bank was announced in January 2004, reviving the project. The casino, named "Angel of the Winds", was scaled down from to .[7] It was redesigned to be a temporary venue, with modular elements that could be sold off once the tribe opened a permanent casino near Smokey Point.[8] [9] The Angel of the Winds Casino opened on October 28, 2004, with 425 slot machines and 10 to 12 game tables. The opening of Angel of the Winds came a few weeks after the Tulalip Tribes reopened the competing Quil Ceda Creek Casino in Marysville as a local alternative to the larger Tulalip Casino.[10] During its full year of operation, the casino generated nearly $30 million in revenue for the Stillaguamish Tribe.[11] The tribe was asked by the Washington State Department of Transportation to remove a billboard on Interstate 5 advertising the casino, after outcry from residents opposed to the casino.[12]
A $44 million expansion to the casino was completed in December 2008, increasing the number of slot machines to 1,000 and the interior space to .[13] A second, $27 million expansion completed in January 2015 added a five-story hotel with 125 rooms and a smoke shop.[14] Angel of the Winds was marketed towards local residents and continued to grow despite competition from nearby casinos.[15] The Angel of the Winds Casino and surrounding land formed the Stillaguamish Tribe's designated reservation, approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2014.[16]
In December 2017, the Stillaguamish Tribe signed a 10-year, $3.4 million naming rights deal to sponsor the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.[17]
The casino announced a $60 million expansion program in 2018, which will add 300000square feet of space, including more gaming space, a restaurant, and a parking garage for 575 vehicles.[18] The first section of the expansion, an expanded gaming floor and bar, opened in September 2019, followed by a bowling alley and 8800square feet events center.[19] [20]
The casino was closed for two months during the COVID-19 pandemic and became the first in Western Washington to reopen, doing so on May 13, 2020, with limited capacity and temperature checks. The casino also introduced a no-smoking policy for the entire building.[21]