Wildhorse Casino-Resort in Oregon Breaks Ground on $100M Expansion

^{The Wildhorse casino is adding a second tower and larger event space to make it more of a destination resort. (Photo: courtesy of Confederated Tribes of Umatilla)} 

Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Pendleton, Oregon, has announced a sweeping $100 million expansion project, currently underway and scheduled to be completed in 2027. The upgrades will include a new 10-story hotel tower, a bigger convention center, and fancier restaurants. 

It’s the latest push by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to offer “Vegas-style casino experience” that also supports economic development on tribal lands, according to a press release.  

"We want to create more memorable experiences through forward-thinking investments in areas that impact our guests as soon as they walk in our doors,” CEO Gary E. George said. 

Upon completion in roughly two years, the resort will add 214 new hotel rooms, more than doubling its current capacity to more than 400. The expansion replaces the original Courtyard Hotel, which opened in 1996 as a 100-room building and the first hotel built by a tribal casino.

Bigger Stage, Bigger Stakes

A major highlight of the expansion is a 15,000-square-foot convention and entertainment venue, tripling the current event space with seating for 1,500 guests. 

This multi-purpose space is designed to accommodate everything from business conventions to concerts, further cementing Wildhorse’s role as an economic and cultural anchor in the region.

The resort is also creating a more upscale dining experience, befitting convention visitors and concertgoers alike. 

Situated off I-84 in Pendleton, Oregon – between Seattle, Portland, Spokane and Boise – Wildhorse is popular with golfers (they have two 18-hole courses) who want a full-service resort experience with a casino that offers modern slots and table games. 

The casino currently offers 1,200 slot machines, blackjack, bingo, craps, keno, poker and roulette.

Steel Tariffs, Labor Shortage Delayed Previous Upgrades

In 2019, the resort embarked on an $85 million expansion aimed at enhancing family-friendly amenities. The first phase, costing $35 million, introduced the Wildhorse Family FunPlex, featuring a 24-lane bowling, a food court, and an expanded arcade.

Plans for the second hotel tower and expanded events center, however, were put on hold after unexpected steel tariffs and a shortage of qualified construction workers forced a recalculation of project costs.  

Now this previously planned expansion is ready to resume, with additional facilities included and $50 million more to spend.

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