“The groundbreaking signals the beginning of a new era for Blue Lake Casino,” said Arla Ramsey, Vice Chairperson of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. “We’re building a first-class hotel that will enable Blue Lake to become a destination for tourists of all kinds. We look forward to offering something unique – a single convenient spot for lodging, dining, entertainment, fuel and supplies for travelers navigating the Highway 101 and Highway 299 corridors.”

Humboldt County has a long-stated need for more hotel rooms.  During peak tourism season and local university and college event weekends, existing lodging is routinely completely sold out.  The Tribe’s hotel expansion is funded by the Blue Lake Rancheria tribe through traditional bank loans acquired based on the merits of the project.

The four-level hotel is expected to be completed in summer 2009 and feature 104 rooms, including a handful of suites and mini-suites. The structure will also include a new 1,700 square ft. non-smoking gaming area and an outdoor swimming pool.  Two public meetings were held in 2007 to introduce the proposed hotel design to the public.  The hotel will be attached directly to the casino on the north end, and incorporate new landscaping and a fern grotto.  Drawings of the venue will be posted in the casino for interested parties.

The hotel will be constructed largely by local and regional contractors, who will have the opportunity to bid on the project.  “We are extremely fortunate to have amazing artisans right here in the Blue Lake area.  We have worked with many of these same people on multiple projects and they are the very best at what they do,” Ramsey said. Hotel construction and ongoing operations will create dozens of new local jobs. Wright & Associates Development Co. of Portland, Oregon has been named as construction manager for the project.

“We started as a small locals casino and have expanded several times to meet demand and fulfill our guests’ requests. Most recently, we renovated Wave lounge and built The Play Station 777 convenience store, deli and fuel mart,” Ramsey said. “We’ve developed lasting relationships with our local patrons – they have been asking us to add lodging for years.  We believe that with the hotel addition, we’ll make our guests happier and bring even more people to Northern Humboldt County. We think once people experience this area, they’ll look forward to coming back again and again.”

About Blue Lake Casino

Blue Lake Casino and The Play Station 777 are enterprises of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe (www.bluelakerancheria-nsn.gov). The casino is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering 750 penny, nickel, quarter, one-dollar and five-dollar slot machines, multi-denomination, video poker and progressive games and live-action Table Games which include Blackjack, Three Way Action®, Caribbean Stud®, Pai Gow Poker™, Three Card Poker Progressive™, high limit Blackjack, live poker and tournaments five nights a week.  Dining choices include Alice’s Buffet, Wave Lounge, the Lily Pad Café and The Play Station 777 Deli. Free live music several nights each week.  For more information, visit http://www.bluelakecasino.com.

About Wright & Associates

Wright & Associates is a fully integrated construction and development company that specializes in building hotels. For more information about Wright & Associates, visit http://www.bobwrightconstruction.com/