This month Indian Gaming magazine traveled to Sky CityCasino Hotel, located on I-40 about an hour west of

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Owned and operated by the Puebloof Acoma, the property is the oldest gaming business in NewMexico. Since opening as a bingo hall in 1988, when Congressenacted the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), Sky CityCasino Hotel has grown into one of New Mexico's premiergaming destinations.

Upon our arrival at the casino, Don Kennedy, marketingdirector for the property, told us some history about the AcomaTribe and their reservation. The 2,000-year-old Sky Citylooms 370 feet above the desert floor, originally built on topof a sandstone mesa for strategic defense. The oldest contin-uously inhabited area in all of North America, Sky City stillserves as the physical and spiritual homeland for the Acoma people. When Francisco Vasques de Coronado's Spanish armyapproached the mesa in 1540, Coronado was impressed by thecity's defensive positioning. The army's Capitan Hernando deAlvarado described the city as, “one of the strongest ever seen,because the city was built on a high rock.”

Today, many of the Acoma people still live in or near SkyCity, where over 400 adobe (mud brick) and sandstone structures can still be seen today. As part of their unique

culture, the homes are owned by Acoma women and are passedon to their youngest daughters each generation. Today, the tribehas 6,000 members spread over the 431,000-acre reservation.

Sky City Casino Hotel has 62,000 sq. ft. of gaming spacethat encompasses 800 slot machines, about half of which areon the ticket in/ticket out system. A majority of the machineshave denominations that start at .01¢ and range up to as muchas $5. Utilizing the Konami players club system, the casino currently has about 60,000 members in its players club. Enticing these players is a “winners board” prominently displayed in the casino, where their popular Wheel of Fortunegames alone have had eight winners, each pocketing from $1million to as much as $6.3 million.

In addition to its variety of slot machines, the casino has 10table games offering blackjack, single-deck pitch blackjack,three-card poker, roulette and craps. The casino hasn't forgotten its roots, still offering bingo in an 820-seat bingo hall,which also converts into an 850-seat entertainment centerwhere name entertainers perform frequently.

As we walked the casino floor, Kennedy explained thediverse market the casino works hard to attract. As a local'scasino, it has a pool of 10,000 adults to draw from in the sur-rounding area. A promotion that has energized this local com-munity is a monthly car and cash giveaway, where guests whojoin the players club can put their name into a drawing drumwhenever they visit the casino. Because they must be presentto win, this has acted as a catalyst for filling the casino on give-away days.

Another even larger market share for the casino is the vastnumbers of both truckers and cars, totaling over 25,000, whichpass in front of the casino daily. Between 800 and 1,000 truck-ers stop every day at the new Sky City Travel Center, designedspecifically for truckers, which provides shower, laundry andbarbershop facilities. An entire section of the center has evenbeen dedicated to providing one of the Southwest's best selections of chrome accessories for truckers.

Kennedy explained that a promotion that has successfullyappealed to these truckers is a twice-a-year $120,000 semi-truckgiveaway. Professional drivers with commercial licenses can jointhe players club and enter their name into a drawing drum once

34 Indian Gaming May 2006

Destination: Sky City Casino Hotel Acoma Pueblo Tribe - Acoma, NM

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The casino attracts professional truck drivers with its popular semi-annual $120,000 truck giveaway.

36 Indian Gaming May 2006

a day, or whenever they pass through. Given the nature of theirwork, these truckers do not need to be present to win. So far,Sky City Casino Hotel has given away three trucks, and theenthusiasm from these players has been incredible. Now notonly can truck drivers passing by on the freeway stop to rest,re-fuel, buy food, and enjoy entertainment, but they also havea chance to win a brand new Kenworth truck.

Other ongoing promotions include a semi-annual RV andcustom motorcycle giveaway. Weekly slot tournaments areheld every Monday and Wednesday, and weekly single-deckblackjack tournaments are held every Tuesday and Thursdayevening. “Because the market is smaller, every guest is veryimportant and we treat everyone like family,” Kennedy said.“Training for the casino employees is just so important so theguests really have a wonderful experience.” In addition tosuperior customer service, the casino itself has to continuouslyadapt in order to keep the slot floor fresh, which is very impor-tant. The casino will be changing about 25% of its floor thisyear alone.

There are several dining options to fulfill one's palette at SkyCity, including the Huwak'a Restaurant, offering a delicious, allyou-can-eat buffet. Available are traditional favorites such asposole, green chili stew, tortillas and a taco bar. The daily buf-fet also has plenty of continental and American favorites. Nextdoor to the buffet is Huwak'a Snack Bar, where traditional Amer-ican fare, like cheeseburgers and fries, share a menu with suchinternational options as authentic Greek Gyros. Also availableinside the casino for a quick bite is Club 102 Lounge. Aside froma huge selection of delicious juices and other non-alcoholic beerages, Club 102 offers a variety of hotdogs and pizzas forquick sustenance on the go. Additionally, the Pinon Tree Cof-fee Bar offers players their favorite coffee drinks.

Attached to Sky City Casino via a three-story rotunda lobbyis the Triple-Diamond Rated Sky City Hotel and Conference

Center. The hotel includes 134 rooms, each featuring South-western décor with solid wood furniture built by Acoma crafts-men. The hotel also includes 3,000 sq. ft. of convention space,and is available for business groups as large as 150. The addition of a hotel has added a new and important dimensionto the property, now encouraging gamers and non-gamersalike to stay on the property, especially during exciting eventsthe casino puts on.

One of the most exciting events at Sky City in recent yearswas when Captain Robbie Knievel set a world record by jump-ing eighteen semi trucks outside of the casino. About 15,000spectators from all over showed up at the property and the eventwas so big that Interstate 40 had to be temporarily closed down.The A&E channel covered the event, and Robbie Knievelsuccessfully made the jump, proving to be an incredible success for the both Knievel and the casino. Another uniqueevent came last year when the film “Black Cloud,” written anddirected by Rick Schroeder, was shot in the area. The casinosponsored the cast party, which was held at the casino and wasa real treat for casino guests who got to see and meet actorsfrom the film.

Next, Kennedy drove us through the sprawling reservation,until reaching the brand new Sky City Cultural Center andHaak'u Museum. This unique museumreveals over 1,000 years of tribal history,displaying arts and artifacts from NorthAmericas' oldest continuously inhabited city.This museum cost more than $15 millionto complete, and every detail in the40,000 sq. ft. building has been carefullyconsidered. The materials, architec-ture, and the direction the building wallsface, have been conscientiously chosen toreflect the vast history of the tribe. Even the

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Guests can unwind in the relaxing courtyard pool at the 3-Diamond Sky City Hotel.

May 2006 Indian Gaming 37

T-shaped doorways and sandstone walls evoke Acoma ances-tral architecture. Many Acoma artisans created the decorativeelements that are found throughout the building, including thehand-carved beams, pottery chimneys, and metalwork.

While remaining true to the ideals of the tribe, the new build-ing meets all standards for professional museum management,enabling the showcasing of treasured Native American exhibits.Two exhibits will premier at the museum's grand opening,including “The Matriarchs,” which traces the evolution of thecelebrated Acoma pottery through its fourmost famous artisans, and “The CottonGirls,” a collection of extremely rare andnever-before-seen Acoma textiles repre-senting the tribe's lost art. “The culturalcenter and museum are a reflection of theAcoma people's desire to preserve a richhistory,” said cultural center and museumdirector Brian Vallo. This building servesas a real tribute to what is a rich history,and will serve as a messenger to touristsand tribal children alike, and lend a handin keeping their unique culture alive.

The Acoma Tribe is also involved inseveral non-gaming businesses, includ-ing Acoma Land and Cattle, which is alarge, progressive, diversified cow calfstocker operation utilizing the resourcesof Red Lake, Bar 15 and Martin Ranches.The enterprise is dedicated to raising andmarketing quality beef. These three ranchoperations comprise over 230,000 acres onthree counties in Western New Mexico.The Acoma Game and Fish business istucked away in the canyons and mesas ofAcoma Pueblo, where some of the largestfree-ranging bull elk can be hunted.Acoma's trophy elk-hunting program hasbeen in operation on the 431,000-acreAcoma Reservation since 1995. The program, through the implementation ofsound game management principles, hascreated a premier world-class trophy hunt-ing area, which people travel from allover the world to participate in.

In addition to economically bene-fiting the tribe and the Acoma Pueblopeople, the casino itself has createdmore than 540 jobs for the surroundingarea. Casino revenues have truly ben-efited this tribe, and have wisely beeninvested in the future of the tribe bybuilding schools, health-wellness clinics, college education programs,new fire and police buildings, a land

buyback program and a new, outstanding cultural center. Offering numerous gaming options, exciting promotions and

outstanding service, Sky City Casino Hotel makes guests feelwelcome and comfortable. This fun, exciting property hassomething for everyone and is truly a must-visit destination inthe Southwest. ¨

For more information about Sky City Casino, visitwww.skycity.com