NIXON - The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe is looking to join its California counterparts in developing a resort in the desert near the lake 45 miles northeast of Reno.
The tribe is asking developers to submit ideas for a destination resort that could include a hotel, restaurant and casino facilities.
The tribe has identified two possible locations - one immediately north of the reservation community of Sutcliffe, which has a marina by the western shore of Pyramid Lake, or near the southern tip of the lake in Coal Creek Canyon, three miles west of the reservation town of Nixon.
The tribe also is seeking a partner for a truck stop near the Wadsworth exit of Interstate 80. That also would include a small casino.
"We were looking at ways of bringing our revenues up by way of different sources," Tribal Chairwoman Bonnie Akaka-Smith told a Reno newspaper. "It's been talked about for many years now, but now we have an economic development director, a committee and a planner."
Akaka-Smith said she wants construction on the two developments to begin within a year. She is seeking proposals from developers by September.
Pyramid Lake is known for its stark beauty, unusual wildlife and fisheries.
Akaka-Smith envisions a small two- to three-story hotel, a restaurant, a cafe and a small casino. As a model, she cites the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, a tribal development on the Gila River near Phoenix.
The Wild Horse features a casino, pool and spa and two 18-hole championship golf courses, and 500 guest rooms. Akaka-Smith has about 150 rooms in mind.
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