Boffo !
The Sycuan hotel received a rare four-star rating from AAA just after opening
The expansion of the Sycuan casino outside of San Diego is like coming home for the tribe
By Dave Bontempo
The expansion included more than 60,000 square feet of additional gaming space
The extensive pool area , complete with a lazy river , has delighted guests since the Sycuan grand opening
What an ascent . Cody Martinez chuckles , recalling the childhood root beer float memory .
It sprang from the concession stand of the bingo hall , where he ’ d grown up on the Sycuan reservation near San Diego . The drink held a dreamy enticement , the barometer of scoring big .
“ The bingo hall was right in my backyard ,” he indicates . “ Sometimes after school when the bus had dropped me off , I was able to get one of those root beer floats . That was a unique thrill for me . You know , we have a strong sense of community here , and I ’ d say there are at least two dozen employees still around who remember me during that time . They have seen me grow up from being a school-age kid .”
And now look . Three decades later , the boy became Chairman Martinez , 38 , and head of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation . Early this year , the group he leads unveiled a major casino expansion on the land where the bingo hall once stood as its cornerstone .
There is 500,000 square feet of additional property space , 60,000 of it earmarked for gaming . There ’ s an award-winning 12-story hotel , a pool , cabanas and night life .
The innovative project cost roughly $ 226 million , transformed the gaming identity of the tribe and features , among other amenities , several new restaurants .
That ’ s a lot of root beer floats .
28 CASINO STYLE 2019