Largest jackpot to date at $26k: Eklutna gaming hall leaders say gambling business going well as lawsuits proceed

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Since its grand opening in February, Chin’an Gaming Hall staff say the floor has been packed, sometimes having to put customers on a wait list.

“Cannot even begin to explain the community support” General Manager Ryan Walker said.

“The biggest feedback that we get is … ‘I don’t have to go to the Lower 48 to find someplace to gamble,’” he explained. “We’re offering an experience right here locally that they don’t have to travel for.”

The gaming hall — owned and operated by the Native Village of Eklutna — primarily employs tribal members, including slot ambassador Bonnie Lopez.

“We’ve had guests from all over the state come in,” Lopez said, explaining she’s met many patrons who have never stepped foot in a gambling hall. “They’re so excited when they come in and they’re happy to try something new.”

Lopez said her favorite part of her job is getting to pay out jackpots. Operators say the largest to date has been more than $26,000.

The current facility is a temporary one, as the tribe constructs a 50,000-square-foot gaming hall, estimated to open by fall 2026.

The tribe estimates the gaming hall will create 400 jobs and generate upwards of $67 million in economic activity once fully operational.

“The project’s revenue will provide critical benefits not just to the tribe, but also the surrounding community,” Village President Aaron Leggett said in a February interview with Alaska’s News Source. “[It] will enhance the Tribe’s ability to support housing, employment, job training, scholarships, cultural enhancement and healthcare initiatives in our community.”

The opening of the Chin’an Gaming Hall was met with lawsuits from neighbors and the state. Yet, it remains open for business, and staff say much of the opposition has died down.

“We are here to stay,” Walker said. “We are here to be a good community partner and we feel that the future is bright for everyone involved.”

The tribe still faces a state lawsuit, filed the same week the gaming hall opened its doors to the public.

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor told Alaska’s News Source that the case comes down to a question of jurisdiction.

“It has nothing to do with gaming, has nothing to do with being anti-Native or anti-tribe,” he said on Feb. 4. “We’re in a position where the state has to do what’s in the best interest of the state and the people of Alaska, which is to maintain primary jurisdiction.”

Taylor said the state still supports the economic development of tribes as it pursues litigation.

Leggett responded to the lawsuit at the time of its filing in a written statement, explaining that the tribe is “saddened and disappointed” that Taylor and Governor Mike Dunleavy are “choosing to haul our Tribe into federal court and ask for a court order that would cause enormous financial damage to the Tribe and the community.”

Gaming hall staff say they do not expect the lawsuit to permanently halt its operation.

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