Yaamava’ has 290,000 square feet of casino space and a total footprint of 1.4 million square feet, general manager Peter Arceo said. A group of twenty-somethings in USC apparel took turns trying their luck at a handful of the property’s 6,600 slot machines. One woman shuffled and tap danced her way down a casino floor walkway in time with a pop song playing over the property’s sound system. Guests filled most of the slot machine seats on the gaming floor closest to the main parking garage on a bustling Thursday afternoon at Yaamava’.

The deal is expected to close later this year. San Manuel announced a $650-million deal with Red Rock Resorts in May to buy the Palms. The tribe also has a hand in operating four nongaming hotels, including the 105-room Bear Springs Hotel two miles east of Yaamava’. Phase two is the new hotel at Yaamava’, and the final phase will conclude next year with a 2,800-seat entertainment venue. The property last month rebranded from San Manuel Casino to Yaamava’ to mark its evolution. The Entertainment Authority completed phase one of a $760-million expansion at Yaamava’ in late July, adding two new gaming floors, 1,500 slot machines, three bars, a new high-limit room, new restaurants and three luxury retail shops. “(Officials) know that if the employees are happy and excited and feel like they’re taken care of, they’re going to do that to their customers,” San Manuel Band of Mission Indians CEO Laurens Vosloo said. But there will be similarities, primarily a focus on the guest and worker experience. Casino executives say the Palms and Yaamava’ will run like different properties serving different audiences. The tribe’s Entertainment Authority is set to debut the former San Manuel Casino as a full-fledged resort, Yaamava’ Resort and Casino, when the property’s first on-site hotel opens at the end of the year.

As the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians prepares to open what will be its second hotel-casino, the Palms in Las Vegas, the tribe continues to transform its first.

(Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Calif. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is in the process of buying the Palms, with the deal expected to close later this year. A view of the Yaamava' Resort & Casino, formerly the San Manuel Casino, in Highland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept.

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