Work starts on $285 million tribal casino expansion in California

18 December 2015

By Matthew Crowley

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians on Wednesday broke ground on a $285 million expansion of its hotel-casino in Temecula, California.

In a statement, the tribe said the expansion of the Pechanga Resort & Casino is expected to take two years to complete and will add a 568-room hotel wing, a two-story spa and salon, a resort-style pool complex with eight pool areas, two new restaurants and 67,000 square feet of event space.

The expanded hotel-casino will have 1,090 hotel rooms, 13 pools, 13 restaurants and 274,500 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.

In the statement, Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Los Angeles economic consulting firm Beacon Economics, estimated the expansion will add more than $550 million to the Temecula economy and will generate 2,944 construction-related jobs. He estimated the expansion will bring 560 jobs annually in future years.