Tachi Palace

Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino

Main entrance of the casino
Location Lemoore, California
Address 17225 Jersey Avenue
Opening date November 4, 1983
Number of rooms 255
Casino type Indian
Owner Santa Rosa Indian Community of the Santa Rosa Rancheria
Previous names Southgate Bingo Palace
Palace Indian Gaming Center
Website tachipalace.com

Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino is an Indian casino on the Santa Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore, California.

History

The 1,100-seat Southgate Bingo Palace was built for $1 million by Paland, Inc. of Dallas,[1] and opened on November 4, 1983.[2] Within seven months, the construction costs had been recouped, and payments to tribal members began.[1]

By 1986, when a $750,000 renovation was completed to make Southgate the "most luxurious bingo hall in the state",[3] the hall was being operated by British-American Bingo, Inc., which received 45 percent of revenues, with the remainder going to the tribe.[4] Tribal members also made up 20 percent of the hall's workforce.[2] Revenues had grown to $5.3 million in 1987.[5] The tribe put the money toward items including youth recreation programs, college scholarships, and construction of homes.[6]

In 1994, the tribe took over operation of the bingo hall and renamed it as the Palace Indian Gaming Center.[7] The tribe soon added slot machines, which grew in number to 385 as of 1997, despite ongoing efforts by the state to block them.[8] In 2005, a major expansion was opened, and it was renamed as Tachi Palace.[9]

The seven-story Tachi Palace hotel

The following year, a 7-story, 255-room hotel was opened on the property.[10] The hotel is semi-circular, with plans for a second phase of construction to complete the circle.

Sporting events

World Extreme Cagefighting hosted 22 mixed martial arts events at Tachi Palace under the direction of Entertainment Director Christian Printup, until it was bought in 2006 by Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and moved its events to Las Vegas.[11][12] Printup then created a new MMA promotion, Palace Fighting Championship.[13] After Printup departed in 2009, the casino formed a new promotion, Tachi Palace Fights, in conjunction with Gladiator Challenge.[14] In December 2012, the tribal council voted to discontinue mixed martial arts events at the casino.[15]

Under the direction of Printup, a three-time World Boxing Council (WBC) & North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Promoter of the Year recipient, Tachi Palace hosted many boxing events in association with promoters such as Bob Arum and Dan Goossen,[16] and became especially known for its women's boxing bouts.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 Payton, Ken (March 14, 1985). "Big-time Indian bingo slow getting started". Sacramento Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-28. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Dudley, Anne (June 5, 1986). "Bingo jobs help family, but problems remain". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-28. (subscription required)
  3. "Renovated bingo hall will celebrate Saturday". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). March 5, 1987. Retrieved 2012-05-29. (subscription required)
  4. Dudley, Anne (August 10, 1986). "Indians angered by attempts to regulate bingo". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-28. (subscription required)
  5. Doyle, Michael (September 8, 1988). "Indians in high-stakes battle". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-29. (subscription required)
  6. Nax, Sanford (June 29, 1993). "Tribe uses bingo profits to ease housing problems". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-29. (subscription required)
  7. "Tachi Yokut History: Santa Rosa Rancheria". Tachi Yokut Tribe. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  8. Correa, Tracy (January 26, 1997). "Tachi Indians hedge their bets". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-29. (subscription required)
  9. Martinez, Martha (October 19, 2005). "Casino grows: Latest expansion phase opens at Tachi Palace". Hanford Sentinel (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-28. (subscription required)
  10. "Tachi Hotel opens with style & fanfare". Lemoore Advance (via NewsBank). November 9, 2006. Retrieved 2012-05-30. (subscription required)
  11. Giannandrea, Nick (January 19, 2007). "Card a knockout at first blush". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-30. (subscription required)
  12. Martin, Todd (December 12, 2007). "Underdog WEC promotion an outfit on the rise". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  13. Giannandrea, Nick (January 18, 2007). "A brawl by any other title". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-30. (subscription required)
  14. de Give, Richard (September 17, 2009). "MMA fights back at Tachi Palace". Hanford Sentinel. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  15. Whitman, Mike (December 8, 2012). "Tachi Palace update: TPF matchmaker confirms casino's decision to discontinue events". Sherdog. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  16. Giannandrea, Nick (July 24, 2009). "Tachi Palace, promoter cut ties". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-30. (subscription required)
  17. Giannandrea, Nick (February 22, 2007). "Female fighters continue to pump up Palace". Fresno Bee (via NewsBank). Retrieved 2012-05-30. (subscription required)

External links

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