Welcome home

"Welcome home.”

It’s a phrase guests hear when they check into the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel.

It’s also a concept that describes the ethos of the company, cultivated from the culture of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and embedded into all aspects of casino operations.

"We’ve grown so much and we’ve done some great things, always been good neighbors, taken care of our employees, our customers, our Tribe and our community," CEO Laura Penney said Thursday. "That’s been something that we’ve followed through since day one.”

The Coeur d’Alene Casino is celebrating its 29th anniversary this month.

It has grown to become a destination gaming resort with more than 1,100 machines. Its staff has increased nearly sevenfold, from 93 employees to 700. It has undergone seven expansions, including the addition of a hotel in 2001 and the Circling Raven Golf Course in 2003. It's given $34 million to support education in the region.

It now boasts swanky VIP lounges and gaming areas, a premier spa, cultural tourism activities, musical and comedy performances, mixed martial arts events, countless giveaways, giant jackpots and more.

And it all started as a simple bingo hall.

“I’m feeling excited,” marketing director Yvette Matt said. “I have been here for 18-ish years, so to watch it grow and be part of it, it’s a proud feeling. It’s just awesome, especially given COVID in the last couple of years. We definitely faced some challenges, but to see us all come together and work together, we’ve had such success in such uncertainty that it’s a proud moment.”

“It’s amazing,” hotel director Margaret SiJohn said. “Look at where we came from, where we started, 29 years. You truly appreciate the Tribe investing in the properties so they can give back to the community.”

It began with bingo

Excitement sparkled surrounding the new venture that would come to be known as the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel.

"Day one, it was very exciting and a lot of uncertainty as to what to expect," Penney said. "But we knew there was something great happening, to see all the Tribal members and the community come together."

It was cold and snowing that March day in 1993. Everyone was concerned no one would show up.

"Then there were lines of people to come in and we’re all excited," Penney said. "We had balloons out. You could see the gleam in people’s eyes, in the employees’ eyes, that this is really something cool.”

They came in hordes for that first bingo session.

Penney said she was working in marketing for about five months when the CEO at the time, Dave Matheson, said, “This better be a good weekend because I’m not sure we’re going to make payroll.”

“Well, we were able to cover payroll,” she said with a grin.

It was Matheson who dreamed up the bingo hall on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.

“That was something that we’d never heard of,” Penney said.

Startup money, however, was nonexistent.

“We had to go to banks to see if we could get a loan,” Penney said. “We needed a $2.9 million loan for the building. We were turned down by three banks.”

Matheson, who worked for the U.S. Department of the Interior, discovered funding resources through the department, which came through with the $2.9 million with a 14-year note.

"And that was paid off in three years,” Penney said.

After a year as a bingo hall, six slot machines were introduced.

“Those took off in a minute," she said. "And here we are, with 1,100 or so machines."

Perseverance through the pandemic

It was rather eerie when the COVID-19 pandemic struck just as the Coeur d'Alene Casino prepared to celebrate its 27th birthday.

"It was right before our anniversary powwow," Matt said. "The same day we opened was the same day we shut down."

Casino officials spent weeks in meetings discussing what procedures would be necessary to reopen.

"We closed down before the state of Idaho told us we even had to," she said. "We did it to protect our community."

Coeur d'Alene shared its protocols with other casinos as it led the way through an unprecedented time. After six weeks, it was the first casino in America to reopen to the public.

"We took the temperature checks, we did the masks and we shut down from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.," Matt said. "We'd never shut the doors, not ever."

Directors worked alongside staff members to conduct deep cleaning.

"We were right there with the front of the line to show them how important it was and that we believed enough in what we were doing to do it side by side with them," she said. "It was what we needed to do. We never had any outbreaks."

The casino worked with Marimn Health to ensure what was being done was safe for everyone.

"When we did open, we were ready," Matt said. "Within four weeks, we knew what we were doing."

The casino held steady in its mask requirements, and later with its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees, even with the departure of about 40 or 50 team members.

"I'm very proud of our Tribe," Penney said. "This is unprecedented times. We really took initiative because we knew how important it was to open our doors. People needed to work."

Penney said it was important to open, but also be safe.

"That value system of taking care of our community that has been prevalent as a tribe for centuries, and that's why we're able to be here, is because that value system came into place as far as taking care of our tribe and looking out for our next generation," she said. "That's always been the forefront in our thoughts."

She said people were upset and the casino was challenged in many ways.

"This was a Tribal decision that was made based on what's best for the community and for the Tribe's survival," Penney said. "That's why we held steadfast to our protocols and mandates."

SiJohn said that's one of the strengths of the casino and the Tribe.

"It's so much easier to be adaptable because there's a great relationship between the Tribe, our casino and leadership, that they can talk and discuss those things," she said. "We're not corporate America, we're not red tape. We can make those changes quickly and together."

Penney said the pandemic has shown the way to be better, stronger and smarter, as well as more efficient.

"We got through this," she said. "We can get through anything."

"Bring on the sunshine," Matt added.

Winning into the future

Although the popular High Mountain Buffet was a casualty of the pandemic, good things are in store for the vacated space.

The Hnlamqe' VIP gaming area has been added, and a food court with three offerings will soon be installed.

Another gaming area, the Discovery Den, is where casino-goers have first dibs on testing games making their debut on the Coeur d'Alene Casino gaming floor.

"This is exciting," Matt said. "We're basically a testing zone. We get to have (games) before anybody else."

The Circling Raven Championship returns this August for the Road to the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

"It's the first in this region, so it's really cool to have this level of tournament," Penney said. "These ladies are amazing. They're so professional - they're great representatives of the game itself."

Next year the casino will celebrate 30 years.

"We'll have big giveaways. We'll have a big open-air concert, fireworks," Matt said. "I can tell you, we'll have a big splash."