It was in 1992 that the first tribal casinos opened in Snohomish County, Washington and since that time players who wanted to enjoy slot machines had to purchase a ticket and then use that ticket to play. The machines did not take money directly, like Vegas slot machines do. All that is about to change as three of the states Casinos are almost ready to accept cash directly into their slot machines.

Last year the twenty seven Indian tribes in Washington State signed an agreement with state leaders that would allow the casinos to operate more gaming machines and raise machine bets to twenty dollars. The tribes would also be able to change the slot machines to ones that will take money directly. The casinos must then contribute to state gambling and smoking addiction programs.

Since the agreement was reached last year, the Quil Ceda Creek Casino,Tulalip Casino and Angel of the Winds casino have been hard at work to alter their slot style machines. The new technology needed to make the changes has taken a full year. The change is not completely finished but the casinos hope it will be soon. The executive vice president of gaming at Tulalip Casino, Marci Fryberg, has stated that the change will give guests a more seamless experience, similar to other casinos outside of Washington.

In the meantime, players can us any ticket to play any slot machine. Previously, players might need up to three tickets to play on different machines, but now only one is required. Quil Ceda Creek Casino has 800 machines that take one ticket and Tulalip Casino is almost ready to accept one ticket. The Angel of the Winds Casino is a bit more advanced in their change, as cash will be accepted within a month. Currently the casino has 540 machines but by the end of the year, they are expected to have 1,000.


- 2008-08-27