Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 • Diamond Mountain Casino Hotel opens with three days of ceremonies

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 edition of the Lassen County Times.

The Diamond Mountain Casino Hotel officially opened its doors on Friday, Sept. 19, to a full crowd of dignitaries from around the area.

Business owners, local political figures and key members of the community were invited to see the newest creation in Lassen County, which was constructed in a little more than a year. The building, originally projected to be a $7.5 million project, has been in the works since Susanville Indian Rancheria’s Tribal Business Council broke ground on the site it now stands on in August 2007.

Casino General Manager Campbell Jamieson said that so far, the hotel has exceeded his expectations.

“So far, we’ve received nothing but positive feedback from the community,” said Jamieson. “I’ve tried to see what our guests reaction has been so far when they check out, and so far it’s been great.”

Jamieson is no stranger to hotel construction, as this is the third hotel he has helped oversee the creation of. He said he currently believed the hotel to be exceeding the standards of a three-star hotel.

Jamieson did confirm the hotel still had a few things that needed to be worked out. He said two of the presidential suites on the top floors of the hotel still weren’t ready, and they still needed to fix a heating problem with the pool. Beyond that, Jamieson said everything is pretty much ready to go.

As far as feedback beyond the hotel guests goes, Campbell said that so far he has heard nothing negative on the impact of the hotel to the community.

Jamieson and others from the rancheria community held a public hearing in March of 2007 discussing a variety of impacts the hotel would have on the immediate area surrounding it, from traffic issues to the blocked skyline for nearby homeowners. Jamieson said that many of the concerns associated with the hotel and the community were addressed at that meeting.

The hotel’s design has gone through a few changes as well. What once was going to be an arcade room was eventually abandoned down the road, as Jamieson had said the hotel wasn’t focusing all of its attentions on bringing in families. The hotel lobby also sports an extra, smoke-free gaming area and a coffee shop next to the entrance to the casino.

Jamieson also said he was looking forward to the positive impact the casino would have on the local economy by bringing in outside dollars. He said the casino is hoping to offer more diverse entertainment in the future as well, from the success they’ve had with the fights put together by Rudy Valentine, to the upcoming Cowboy Poetry event in October.

So far, the hotel hasn’t affected the casino’s capacity, which Campbell said is roughly 600 people. He said that with the tough times the country’s economy is going through, he would be happy with business staying at a nice flat rate.

As for the future, Campbell said the rancheria and the TBC doesn’t have any plans to expand or build anything else for a little while. He said the current focus is on promoting the hotel and making sure it’s first months in Susanville run smoothly.