Greetings from the Tulalip  Resort Casino!  We're in Tulalip, Washington, for Raving's 12th Indian Gaming Marketing Conference, where we delivered today's luncheon keynote.

The Tulalip Resort Casino is an absolutely gorgeous facility.  Completed in 2008, the resort side is operated by the tribe and marketed through Summit Hotels&Resorts.  The feel is upscale luxury, on par with the best hotels in any city we've traveled to.  Our room, done in reds and ambers and decorated with traditional art, features floor-to-ceiling windows, a 47-inch flatscreen tv, and a triple-head shower.  The hotel lobby has public areas with fireplaces and a friendly and helpful staff.  Despite our best intentions, we didn't make it to the fitness center, but it sounds nice!  The conference facility also was state-of-the-art, with three screens for our PowerPoint presentation over lunch.

On the casino side, which was built in 2003 with some updates when the resort was completed, the theme is the traditions of the Tulalip Tribe.  Green and gold glass, depicting a sustenance based on the sea, sparkles throughout, with plexiglass eagles soaring overhead.  Those who know me will understand that I was tempted by the "Kitty Glitter" slots, but we did not gamble in the casino.

Our luncheon keynote was "What Indian Gaming Marketers Should Know About the Indian Gaming Business and Its History."  We started with examples of how the story of tribal gaming gets told through popular culture and mainstream media, and then moved to the "real story" of Indian gaming -- from the bingo halls and card rooms in the early 1980s to Cabazon to IGRA and through to Indian gaming now.  We delivered a message we hoped resonated with the marketing professionals in the room -- that how they tell the story of their tribal casino impacts not just the public's perception of their casino, but of all tribal gaming, and of all tribes, and of all tribal people.

We've had a great time at the Raving conference, and hope to attend the next one!  Now, we're off to the "behind the scenes" tour of the casino and resort . . . .