Some major expansion is planned for the Tortoise Rock Casino in Twentynine Palms, which will note its third anniversary April 1. At a tourism marketing meeting hosted by the City of Twentynine Palms Thursday morning, casino general manager Tom Sedlock first reported that the Casino was enjoying continuous growth and was now seeing 40 to 50 percent of its business coming from Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley. Sedlock then announced the expansion plans, saying the Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians are planning on adding a full-service hotel to their 160 acres of reservation property with restaurants and meeting rooms. The casino itself will be expanding by building an event center to hold concerts inside. Elsewhere on the reservation, Sedlock said they are planning for an RV park on the property including facilities for restrooms and showers, and a full-service gas station. In addition, Sedlock said, tribal leaders are hoping to build a tribal cultural center to illustrate the proud history of the band.
