Casino Closeup: Casino MorongoNew Design Is Out Of This World!
--By Christine Snyder for Native American Casino
Every Friday evening, a mass exodus of Californians makes their way to Las Vegas for a weekend of gambling, partying and relaxing. Bill Davis, general manager of Casino Morongo, and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians are working to stub some of that flow. “We think we’re going to get some of those people to come to Morongo,” Davis said.
With their old facility, that wasn’t possible. While the 2,000-slot, 100,000-square-foot casino did a healthy business, it had none of the amenities t`o capture the Vegas-crowd. The new Casino Morongo does.
The new resort is 680,000 square feet with a 27-story, 310-room hotel tower, a pool/spa, almost 150,000 square feet of gaming space, three nightclubs, a banquet facility and nine restaurants.
“There was no reason for people to come and stay,” said Davis of the old casino. “By building a destination resort, there are no limitations. People can come from all over the world.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the new resort is 20 minutes from downtown Palm Springs and all that entails. “Palm Springs already has a name that has been established as a golfing mecca, a nice place to go and relax,” said Davis, adding that Casino Morongo is 10 minutes away from two golf courses. “We have deals with them, and our concierge can get you a tee time anytime you want.”
Ken Langley, of Quality Cabinet and Fixture Company based in San Diego, one of the subcontractors for the new resort, said Casino Morongo is following the model that a lot of larger Native American casinos are doing. “They start out in a small, temporary-type structure, and then they see the business opportunity and the demand they are building to that niche,” he said. “We were proud to be involved in this particular project.”
The Jerde Partnership was the design architect for the resort. According to Sharmila Tankha, senior associate project designer, Jerde was given two important objectives: To create a memorable experience for visitors and to pay attention to details.
Denise Nahman, owner of Creative Uniforms, said these two objectives were evident even in the uniforms. “They went very high-class inside the casino…and a very contemporary, almost overboard type of look for the entrance,” she said. “The designs are very over-the-top. I think in some instances it may shock the visitors coming in, and in some instances they will be amused. They will all go away not forgetting what these guys are wearing.”
“What we arrived at was a sequence of experiences for when the visitor comes into the project,” Tankha said. “We call the entry area ‘transition;’ the interior, which is mainly the casino and other offerings, the ‘zone of transformation;’ and when you go through the casino into the pool area, that’s the ‘zone of oasis.’ ”
Upon entry, there is a tree-lined avenue coming up to a large, cascading structure. “The structure is to define the entryway and break down the bright sun so you get a lot of shadows,” Tankha said. “So you know you’re in a sheltered area.”
Tankha said they call the interior the zone of transformation “because anything can happen in the casino.” Here the architects took many cues from nature. There are dramatic views of mountain ranges and yearlong sunshine. “We made sure we took advantage of that.” The top two floors are glass to capitalize on the natural beauty surrounding the site.
The spa area is the zone of oasis. “It’s very peaceful with the pool and a variety of relaxing experiences,” Tankha said. “We looked at the project and the site, and what we determined was that it was very unique. We were going toward being influenced by the site itself. What’s special about it is the very strong influences of nature.”
The negative influences are the weather extremes of a desert clime and the strong winds. “We underestimated how the wind would impact us,” said Pat Hubbs, Perini Building, the general contractor for the construction. “It’s right in that valley, the wind is blowing every day and the higher we got up with the hotel tower, the more impact it had on us as far as getting the work done and keeping the crane moving. We ended up working around the clock just to keep progress going. It’s far above what they had. It’s going to be a real nice property for them.”
Lisa Bastian, of Las Vegas-based Plantpusher, who provided the indoor foliage, described the resort’s design as “organic George Jetson.” “It’s very sleek, hip, California contemporary,” she said. “It’s about the coolest casino I’ve seen in a long time.”
“I wanted people to come here and be wow-ed,” Davis said. “And to set yourself apart from the other properties, you have to do something special. The Jerde Partnership has done that.” Davis says nightlife and restaurants were important amenities to consider. The nine restaurants include a Mediterranean restaurant on the top of the building, a steakhouse, a 24-hour coffee shop that will also provide room service, and a 500-seat buffet. “That’s going to be unlike any buffet you’ve ever seen. There will be very little food in pans, everything will be cooked fresh while you’re waiting.”
Two of the nightclubs will be run by the management organization, the N9ne Group, which operates, among others, the famous nightclub, Rain, out of the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. N9ne will operate Desert Rain at Morongo. The three-story club can accommodate 1,500 people and will feature a raised dance floor, fire and water effects, and a large circular stage. The other N9ne-operated Morongo club is Space Bar, which will be on the top floor. A casino lounge, Mystic, will round out the club offerings.
“By incorporating the N9ne people here in California, we’re offering something no one has done yet in a casino in California: introducing nightlife,” said Davis, who added that the nightclubs just make it that much easier for Californians to stay in California. “We’re closer than Vegas, we have the same amenities, we have similar nightlife, we have great golf courses and we’re 90 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.”
The new Casino Morongo will open to the public December 10. The old facility will stay open in a limited capacity.
Christine Snyder is a Detroit-based journalist and business communications specialist. She has written for several Michigan publications and companies.
