9, legalized sports gambling with 20 sanctioned sports books. Doug Ducey signed a compact in April that allowed casino expansion: thousands more slot machines new table games such as craps, roulette and baccarat and starting Sept. Recent changes to Arizona’s tribal gaming regulations certainly don’t hurt. Two courses at We-Ko-Pa, one at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, two at Whirlwind and two at Talking Stick make the top 50.Įach of those is supported by tribal casinos that have either recently upgraded amenities or are in the process, adding hotel rooms and improving gaming floors to welcome a swarm of travelers as the COVID-19 pandemic eases in the U.S. Seven courses within half an hour’s drive of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport rank inside the top 50 casino layouts in the United States. Golf is just one measuring stick for the various tribes, giving the resorts a chance to show off their land while attracting those visitors who prefer a kind of risk and reward not found in a casino.Īnd based on Golfweek’s Best rankings of casino courses, the layouts around Phoenix measure up quite well. We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort in Arizona (Courtesy of We-Ko-Pa) It’s especially true as new table games are introduced this year, with legal sports books scheduled to open around the state in September. I can’t say they all went in, but it was fun to finally see a few putts drop as the morning temperatures rose.Īfter the golf, I sipped my eighth bottle of water that day as I cruised two miles to the Gila River Hotels and Casino at Wild Horse Pass to soak in something else heating up in the Arizona desert: the battle for supremacy among tribal gaming operators, many of whom are investing lavishly to upgrade their offerings.Īrizona’s gaming scene is expanding at a breakneck clip, luring in new customers with enhanced amenities across the full spectrum of hospitality. Maybe I was too exhausted after four full days of golf, three of which included 36 holes, to keep wasting time with my standard misses. Thermometers blasted into the triple digits for the week in June, but the greens were rolling perfectly and even my normally tepid stroke somehow absorbed a bit of the ambient heat.

Somehow it all seemed easy on the front nine of the Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, a short drive south of Phoenix. But for several holes at least, the only thing hotter than the June weather in this region known as the Valley of the Sun was my putter – and that’s as unlikely a statement as I have ever written.

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