Making It Count

Gary Diedrichs, Smart Meetings

If there’s a new mantra for meeting, it’s “make it count.” Make the how count—the rigors (and potential health risks) of travel. Make the why count—a genuine business need. Make the where count—a memorable and meaningful setting and experience.
 
Few options for meeting professionals tick these boxes like Native American casino resorts. Tribal gambling has come a long way since Florida’s Seminole Tribe opened a no-frills bingo hall in the early 1980s to help compensate for painful Reagan-era federal budget cuts to Native American reservations. It wasn’t until 1987 that the Supreme Court officially legalized gambling by tribes on their own lands.
 
Today, tribal casinos, many with award-winning resorts boasting excellent meeting facilities, have become a $39 billion industry for 243 tribes in 29 states.

Here’s why they can be winners for your next meeting.