The biggest casino construction project in the Central Valley has shifted into its most visible phase. One year after the Tule River Tribe broke ground on July 2, 2025, the roughly 220 million dollar Phase 2 expansion of Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville has entered full resort construction, with foundation work and utilities giving way to vertical building that will continue through the rest of 2026.
What Is Being Built
The expansion transforms a locals casino into a destination resort. The headline piece is a 193 room hotel tower topped by a rooftop restaurant with views of the Sierra Nevada foothills, joined by a 2,000 seat events center with convention space, breakout meeting rooms and pre function areas designed to bring concerts and conferences to Porterville. A new resort pool, spa, arcade and expanded dining round out the guest amenities, while a central warehouse and administrative offices expand the back of house.
Tutor Perini Building Corp. is the general contractor on the project, with HBG Design leading the architecture and Connect Advisors serving as the owner's representative for the tribe.
A Fast Follow to the 2023 Relocation
Phase 2 comes barely two years after the casino itself moved down from the Tule River Reservation to its current site off Highway 65 next to the Porterville Fairgrounds. The relocated Eagle Mountain opened in April 2023 with a 105,000 square foot floor, roughly 1,750 slot machines and 20 table games, operating around the clock. The move put the casino minutes from Highway 99 traffic instead of at the end of a mountain road, and the performance since opening gave the tribe the confidence to accelerate the resort phase.
Why It Matters Beyond Porterville
Tulare County has never had a resort scale gaming property. The nearest full hotel casinos are more than an hour away, which means Eagle Mountain has effectively been sending its best customers home at night. A 193 room tower changes that, keeping visitors on property and drawing entertainment traffic from Fresno, Bakersfield and Visalia. The 2,000 seat events center also gives the southern Central Valley a mid size venue it has lacked, the kind of room that books touring acts which currently skip the region entirely.
The project follows a wave of tribal resort investment across the state, from the billion dollar expansion at Graton Resort in Sonoma County to new hotel towers in San Diego County. Our report on the Graton expansion opening looks at how Northern California's largest casino grew, and our piece on tribal gaming priorities for 2026 covers the economics driving these builds.
The Timeline From Here
Vertical construction and structural work run through the end of 2026, followed by interior build out and amenity installation into 2027, with substantial completion and opening targeted for 2027. The tribe unveiled a new casino logo and resort renderings at the groundbreaking, and progress updates are posted by the casino as milestones land. Until the tower opens, Eagle Mountain remains a day trip property, and players comparing their online options in the meantime can start with our guide to the best California online casinos.
