Waiting for the new expansion has taken years of waiting for the Nation, but members are excited to finally see it happen.

“It was a bit surreal to see it finally opened,” senior manager of public relations Tris Harris said. “So many of us who have been waiting over 15 years didn’t think we’d ever see this day, and it was wonderful.”

There was obvious elation on the faces of those in attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony, which capped off years of work.

The construction was done by Miron Construction, who is working on the rest of the additions as well.

The new area is a bright, open area with a bar and stage behind it for live bands that will come in after the grand re-opening in February.

It is also a non-smoking area as executive manager Greg Garvin said that was a big request from guests.

“Everyone I talked to loved how spacious it is and how upscale it looks—it really is night and day walking from the old Casino into the new addition,” Harris said.

All the new construction has a buzz of excitement brewing around the casino as members are ready to have everything done and open for the public to see.

Expansions aren’t the end of the changes to the casino though, as they plan on renovating the older sections next.

There is still a lot of work to be done on the hotel before it is ready, but Harris and other members are ready to show off all the new work.

“There is still a lot of construction going on, so it would be pretty amazing to come here in February when everything is completed with fresh eyes, but for those of us who are here daily, it’s getting pretty hard to remember what it used to look like,” Harris said.