Following a contentious negotiation process between the Puyallup Tribe and the Port of Tacoma regarding the future development of the Blair Waterway and the location of the original casino, an agreement provides the opportunity for the Puyallup Tribe to greatly expand casino gaming, with new or enlarged facilities at both the Fife location and at the Emerald Queen Casino I-5 just off the Interstate in Tacoma.Ĭonsidering Gaming as a Source of Development He said he has an appointment at a shipyard in June to take another look at it in dry dock.On December 29, 2004, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians' new Emerald Queen Casino opens in Fife in northern Pierce County, following reduction in road access to the original paddlewheel riverboat casino located on the Blair Waterway in Tacoma to allow for development of a Port of Tacoma container facility for the shipping conglomerate Evergreen Marine Corporation.

The business owner said he walked through the vessel and its interior is still in good shape. Halverson said the sale of the Emerald Queen riverboat was brought to him by a broker who had spoken with the Puyallup Tribe about it. The publication said the boat’s most striking interior feature was a grand staircase that connected three decks in an atrium lit by a chandelier. It had a capacity of 2,000 people.Ĭalling it a “Cajun Gem,” Northwest Yachting wrote that the boat’s design was an homage to 19th century riverboating, directed not by a propeller but by a “giant wooden stern wheel” that could get the boat to a top speed of 10 knots thanks to two Cummins diesel engines.

A 1997 News Tribune story marking its opening reported that the Puyallup Tribe purchased the boat for $13 million and that the total project cost $21 million.

According to the publication, the 700,000-square-foot, four-deck boat was built in 1995 by Louisiana-based Quality Shipyard and Kehl River Boats at a cost of $15 million. Before the sale, the riverboat was listed last year in Northwest Yachting Magazine.

Old emerald queen casino boat