Tribal officials have high expectations for the casino, located about 10 miles west of this inland city, the second largest in the state and focal point of a population of 400,000. It was built at a cost of $29-million. The proceeds will fuel the 300-member tribe's social service and education programs, according to casino executive Marianne Guenther.

The tribe found 40 acres in Airway Heights, near an auto-racing track. When the land was purchased in 1996, the Tribe asked that the acreage be designated reservation land. The tribe's original 4,600-acre reservation runs 10 miles along the banks of the Pend Oreille River in northeastern Washington. In 1998, Governor Gary Locke cleared the way for the casino, based on his determination that the casino was in the best interested of the Kalispel.