This had been a long time coming - a local tribe - the Nooksack - had a casino and proceeded to run it into the ground.
The potential for closing first surfaced publically in June of 2015:
A bit of an economic meltdown in our community
From The Bellingham Herald:
Nooksack tribal chairman tells members its Deming casino could close
This week, Nooksack Indian Tribal Chairman Bob Kelly called the first public meeting in roughly three years to inform members of the possible closing of the Nooksack River Casino.
The casino was renovated using about $15 million in loans that the Nooksack Business Corporation, an entity owned by the tribe, made payments on for only a year before going into default.
My comment was this:
They spent a lot of money on remodels that never really did anything. The did a major overhaul on their market centre, restaurant and bar but the quality of food did not keep pace (stopped eating there years ago - used to be good). They did a big promotion featuring Robbie Knievel. They built (and expanded) a brand new casino in an out-of-the-way location close to the Canadian border. There are a lot of Canadians that come to gamble but the casino is far from any border crossing.
From today's Bellingham Herald:
Nooksack River Casino shuts down
The Nooksack River Casino was closed Thursday night, Dec. 10, and won’t reopen.
It appeared little warning was given to the community or to the employees before the casino in Deming was shuttered.
The tribe had been in court with lenders for years over unpaid debts that were used to renovate the casino, making the building’s future unclear.
Some of the comments to the Herald article are from Casino workers - this one summed it up: Right before Christmas! Jerks.
Indeed - another perfect example of piss-poor management.
There was also a bit of a scandal ten years ago involving the son of Seattle's Mayor - from The Seattle Times, May 24, 2007:
Nickels’ son indicted with dozens in scheme to cheat casinos
Jacob Dyson Nickels, the son of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, has been indicted as part of an investigation into a multi-state casino-cheating ring that allegedly stole millions of dollars by bribing casino employees to falsely shuffle decks.
Nickels, 25, was a pit boss at the Nooksack Indian Tribe’s Nooksack River Casino in Whatcom County in the summer of 2005 when he accepted $5,000 to introduce one of the ring’s alleged conspirators to crooked dealers, according to an indictment unsealed today at U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Two of the defendants, George Lee and Tien Duc Vu, won more than $90,000 on mini-baccarat that October with the help of Nickels and two dealers, Levi Seth Mayfield and Kasey James McKillip, the indictment said.
Poorly managed -and- poor security. Not a way to manage a business.
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