On Monday, the Ak-Chin Indian Community opened a 146-room resort-style hotel on its property, which lies 35 miles south of downtown Phoenix but borders the southern edge of Phoenix and other East Valley cities.

The hotel will be operated by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the same company that operates the six-year old casino adjacent to the hotel. Harrah's plans to use its nationwide network of hotels and reservations system to attract gamblers to the site, which sits alone just off Interstate 10.

Harrah's will use coupons and other promotions to pitch the hotel to its regular customers, say company officials. It will be marketed as a secluded getaway or a jumping-off point for other amenities in the area.

Each of the hotel room have 450 sf and oversized bathrooms and Internet access. Four luxury suites have 900 sf each and include a living room, wet bar and an additional half bathroom. The hotel is designed around a courtyard with a river-like pool with a swim-up bar. Room rates will range from $79 a night and up during midweek and $129 and up on the weekends.

The Ak-Chin Community is the first tribal operation in the metro area to open a full-service hotel, and their development has spurred hotel development on other nearby Indian reservations.

The Gila River Indian Community, which lies to the east of Scottsdale and north of Mesa, will break ground later this month on a 500-room resort and gold course at the tribe's Wild Horse Pass casino. The hotel will have a Sheraton affiliation and will be operated by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts. The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation is planning to build a resort hotel in the near term adjacent to the tribe's existing casino in the northeast Valley.

The development of the resorts are a sure sign that the Indian Communities are maturing in the management of their land and assets, and are beginning to challenge gambling meccas like Las Vegas and Atlantic City for market share. During 2000, the combined Indian casinos across the nation reported revenues of $9.9 billion, while Nevada's casinos posted $9.6 billion, according to a year-end survey by Merrill Lynch. That narrow gap is expected to widen further and further every year, with revenues of $12 billion projected for the Indian casinos this year and $9.8 billion for Nevada this year.