Pascua Yaqui Tribe Opens Vahi Ta’am as First Casino Within Tucson City Limits

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe opened Casino Del Sol Vahi Ta’am on November 15, becoming the first casino within Tucson city limits and the third casino operated by the tribe. The property at 1055 W. Grant Road, near Interstate 10, welcomed the public after a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony, with a fireworks display set for 8 p.m. Vahi Ta’am means “three sons” in Yoeme, the language of the Pascua Yaqui people.

Property Features and Initial Operations

The casino delivers a 52,525-square-foot gaming floor equipped with 928 slot machines and 24 table games. It also houses a sportsbook, two restaurants and five bars. As reported by World Casino News, the venue is expected to create up to 500 jobs across gaming operations, food and beverage, hospitality, security and administrative roles. Artwork throughout reflects tribal connections, including a central mural titled Aniam Yo’orine (“Respect the World”) by Marcelino C. Flores III and a blue-sky scene painted across the 24,000-square-foot domed ceiling by local artist Joe Pagac.

Officials are considering a convention center and resort hotel as potential future phases at the site, the first development planned there. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has coordinated with businesses along Grant Road east of Interstate 10 as preparations for additional development continue. The location offers access for both Tucson residents and regional visitors, with the project positioned as an investment in employment, tourism and economic development.

Decade-Long Path to Opening

The project traces back approximately 15 years to the tribe’s purchase of the former Century Park 16 movie theater site. In 2019, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe began the process of placing the property into federal trust, a required step before casino gaming could operate on the land. Tucson approved an intergovernmental agreement outlining the city-tribe relationship once the parcel joined the reservation.

In 2022, the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva introduced legislation to place the land into trust. President Joe Biden signed the measure later that year, establishing the parcel as sovereign land. Demolition of the former theater began in 2023, followed by roughly three years of construction. The November 15 opening completes that process and adds a new gaming property inside Tucson itself, expanding the tribe’s operations in Southern Arizona alongside its existing casinos.