Agua Caliente Casinos Win Naming Rights to Palm Springs Concourse

Posted on: December 21, 2023, 12:48h. 

Last updated on: December 26, 2023, 01:21h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Agua Caliente Casinos in Palm Springs, Calif., has landed a historic marketing partnership with Palm Springs International Airport.

Agua Caliente Casinos Palm Springs Airport
Palm Springs International Airport this week renamed one of its concourses to the Agua Caliente Concourse. The marketing deal comes in partnership with Agua Caliente Casinos, which operates three resorts in town. (Image: Palm Springs International Airport)

Said to be a first in the aviation industry, Agua Caliente Casinos, the gaming and hospitality company owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, has secured the naming rights to a terminal inside the commercial airport. Through the branding agreement, Palm Springs International will rename its Regional Jet Concourse, commonly called the RJ Concourse, to the Agua Caliente Concourse. The change is effective immediately, just in time for holiday travel.

Aviation experts say the deal is the first time a tribal gaming firm has sponsored a commercial airport.

For over 20 years, Agua Caliente Casinos has been the ultimate Coachella Valley destination for gaming and entertainment. This incredible partnership with the Palm Springs International Airport allows us to make an even greater first impression and share more about everything Agua from the moment travelers enter the airport,” said Saverio Scheri III, the chief operating officer at Agua Caliente Casinos.

Palm Springs International is located on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, but is owned and operated by the City of Palm Springs.

“Every day, our team is working to transform Palm Springs International Airport into an innovative, industry-leading facility,” added Harry Barrett, the executive director of the facility. “This announcement is just one of the many ‘firsts’ PSP hopes to achieve.”

Palm Springs Casinos

Agua Caliente Casinos consists of three resorts, including Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs, and Cathedral City. All are located within a 10-mile radius of one another. The tribal casinos offer slot machines and table games through the tribe’s Class III gaming compact with the state.

The Agua Caliente’s most recent revenue-sharing agreement with California was reached in 2016 with then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D). It permits the tribe to operate up to 5,000 slot machines and table game positions. The Agua Caliente Casinos pay a graduated tax on their gross gaming revenue that caps at 13%.

The 2016 compact allowed the tribe to expand from two casinos to up to six. Agua Caliente’s Cathedral City casino opened in November 2020.

Cathedral City is the smallest casino of the three, with about 500 slots and eight table games. Palm Springs has 1,000 slots and 22 tables, while Rancho Mirage offers 1,450 slots and almost 50 table games.

Palm Springs Destination

A desert resort city in Riverside County, a little more than 100 miles southeast of Los Angeles, Palm Springs is noted for its mid-century architecture, recreational activities, and abundance of warm, sunny days and pleasantly cool evenings.

Palm Springs relies on tourism for its economy, and its local government is primarily funded through a retail sales tax and the city’s transient occupancy tax. The area’s busiest time of the year is typically during Coachella, the annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club, about 22 miles southeast of downtown Palm Springs in Indio.

Palm Springs International Airport served nearly three million passengers in 2022. The newly named Agua Caliente Concourse includes eight gates, a CNBC-branded convenience store, and a restaurant called Buzz by Barfly.