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New Desert Diamond Casino opens Sunday

Published  December 20, 2015 10:43am MST
FOX 10 Phoenix

PHOENIX - After a year of construction, the controversial Desert Diamond Resort and Casino is set to open. Reporter Marcy Jones got a sneak peak inside.

The Tohono O'Odham tribe has been fighting to build the Desert Diamond Casino since the early 2000s. "It's making them whole for land that they lost and it returns to them a piece of their reality that was lost," supporters say. Opponents say the land was not theirs to build on, but supporters say the state gave them the land after a flood on the reservation.

Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva, who attended the preview event, says the economic boost will benefit everyone, and that in the end, up to 3000 to 4000 people will be working at the casino.

There will not be any table casino games because state officials with the Arizona Department of Gaming are refusing to issue certificates due to a lengthy court battle between the Tohono O'odham nation and the state of Arizona.

The casino opens on Sunday at 1pm and is scheduled to remain open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.