CABAZON, Calif. — Guests strolled along a red carpet, past serpentine pools and a steaming Jacuzzi, to a heated tent big enough to hold a football field. Inside, they sipped Napa Valley Chardonnay, laughed along with "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and rocked to the sounds of guitar legend Carlos Santana and pop sensation Destiny's Child.
It was all part of a two-day event to celebrate the opening of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians' $250-million casino resort hotel in Cabazon, a project tribal leaders hope will rival the opulent hotels and casinos in Las Vegas.
"Everything has led to this moment," Maurice Lyons, the Morongo tribal chairman, told a cheering crowd at the start of the celebration.
Lyons and other tribal leaders say the opening of the 27-story resort with views of the San Gorgonio and San Jacinto mountains is only the beginning of an expansion they hope will make the 32,000-acre reservation in eastern Riverside County an even bigger attraction.
Although several hotel-restaurants have yet to open, tribal leaders were already talking about adding a nearby golf course, dude ranch, fruit orchards, trailer park, shopping center and rodeo grounds.
"Once we get started, we can't stop," Lyons said. "This is just the beginning."
The 600,000-square-foot casino and hotel -- adorned with Las Vegas-style flashing lights and a blinking mega-screen sign -- replaced a 100,000-square-foot casino, which will still be used for bingo. Economists say the new facility just off Interstate 10 about 90 miles east of Los Angeles could create more than 4,000 jobs and generate nearly $2.8 billion in business in the region over the next five years.
"This casino is an economic shot in the arm for Riverside County," said former Gov. Gray Davis, one of several current and former political leaders who attended the opening-night celebration Wednesday. "It's a dream come true."
The Cabazon Band of Mission Indians will open a 12-story hotel at its Fantasy Springs Casino near Indio early next month, and a few weeks later the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will open a 465,000-square-foot casino near Highland in San Bernardino County.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians opened its Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs a year ago, which followed the opening of the $262-million hotel and casino by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians in 2002.
