ilani Casino Resort
ilani's floor spans over 100,000 square feet and nearly 3,000 slots, all under the tallest building in Clark County -- a 14-story tower that's hard to miss from the highway.
ilani Casino Resort sits about 25 miles north of Portland, Oregon, just off Interstate 5 near La Center, Washington -- close enough to draw serious Portland-area traffic, which it proved on opening day in 2017 when an estimated 15,000 people showed up and backed up I-5 for eight miles. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe operates the property on a reservation the tribe only secured in 2013, after decades without one. Today the floor runs nearly 3,000 slot machines and 75-plus table games across more than 100,000 square feet, all under a 14-story tower that's the tallest building in Clark County. Here's what's actually on the floor, what makes the room feel different from its regional competitors, and the history behind how it got built.
Slot Machines and Video Poker
ilani's slot floor centers on a rotating 'Hot Slots' lineup the casino promotes directly on its own site, and it leans heavily into link and lock-style progressive families rather than older single-line classics. The Devil's Lock family shows up twice -- Devil's Lock and Devil's Lock All In -- alongside Lion Link Prosperous Rooster, Sharks Lock, and Hot Hot Blazing Lock. The Huff N' Puff series gets real depth too, with both Huff N' Even More Puff and Huff N More Puff confirmed on the floor as separate titles. Asian-themed and fortune-branded titles run deep: 88 Fortunes, Tree of Wealth, Triple Fortune Dragon, Xing Fu 888, and Dragon Spin all appear on the official slots page, alongside Mega Meltdown, Treasure Wave, and Double Wolf rounding out the mix. Casino-directory sources add that the machines range from penny denominations up to high-limit stakes, with new titles installed regularly. Table-game-adjacent electronic options extend the floor further -- the property runs Blazing 777 Blackjack Progressive across 20 of its tables, alongside standard Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker, Roulette, Craps, Texas Hold'em, 3 Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Midi-Baccarat, and Bahama Bonus, adding up to more than 75 table games total -- a large number for a tribal casino of this size, and one a casino-directory profile specifically flags as the largest table-game selection in the region.
Layout, Decor, and Atmosphere
ilani's biggest differentiator on paper is its air. The main casino floor -- covering the slots, table games, electronic table games, and the sportsbook -- is a designated non-smoking gaming area, according to the casino's own FAQ, with a separate smoking lounge and its own bank of slot machines set off next to the Meeting & Entertainment center instead. A regional gambling guide independently pegs the no-smoking gaming space at more than 32,000 square feet, and multiple reviewers cite the clean air as one of the clearest ways ilani stands apart from other casinos in the region. The design itself leans Las Vegas rather than typical regional-casino, with an open, easy-to-navigate layout -- but it's grounded specifically in place: a large display of Cowlitz tribal photography and artwork greets guests at the entrance, and a floor graphic near the entry reads simply 'We Are Here,' a direct nod to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe as owner and operator rather than generic resort branding. Beyond the floor, the property includes a dedicated High Limit room with its own VIP Lounge and a full-service sportsbook for players who want to step away from the main gaming areas.
History and Location
ilani opened on April 24, 2017, but the path to that opening took most of two decades. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe gained federal recognition on February 14, 2000, as a nation of roughly 3,700 members -- but without a reservation of its own. The tribe received a gaming license from the National Indian Gaming Commission in 2005 and spent years afterward planning a casino project before securing the rights to establish a 152-acre reservation near La Center in 2013; that reservation was formally established in March 2015. Financing came together with the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut in December 2015 for what became a $510 million project, groundbreaking followed on February 14, 2016, and the casino took its name -- the Cowlitz word for 'sing' -- that June. The casino sits on I-5 about 25 miles north of Portland, a location that made it instantly accessible to a major metro population and just as instantly a traffic bottleneck: an estimated 15,000 people showed up on opening day, filling the 3,000-stall parking lot and backing up I-5 for eight miles. The Cowlitz Tribe assumed full management control of the property from its financing partners in 2023, six years after opening.
Momentum Rewards
Players who plan repeat visits can track play through Momentum, ilani's in-house loyalty program, which the casino promotes as delivering a variety of rewards and benefits tied to restaurant, bar, and casino activity through promotional notifications. Unlike the multi-property loyalty programs run by companies like Caesars or MGM, Momentum is specific to this one resort -- there's no sister property to carry status over to, which makes sense given ilani is the flagship, and currently only, property the Cowlitz Indian Tribe operates.
What to Know Before You Play
If clean air matters to your session, ilani is worth prioritizing over regional competitors that still allow smoking across the whole floor -- just remember the smoking lounge exists separately if you need it. If you're chasing a specific slot family, look for the Hot Slots section near the entrance, where the rotating lineup of Devil's Lock, Huff N' Puff, and Lion Link titles tends to concentrate. Table-game players have unusually deep options for a property this size, including 20 tables running Blazing 777 Blackjack Progressive. And if you're standing in front of a machine or table and want a faster read than guessing, photographing it and asking 6-lab's Advisor beats trial and error.
Notable games on the floor
- 88 Fortunes
- Mega Meltdown
- Tree of Wealth
- Triple Fortune Dragon
- Devil's Lock All In
- Huff N' Even More Puff
- Hot Hot Blazing Lock
- Treasure Wave
- Devil's Lock
- Lion Link Prosperous Rooster
- Sharks Lock
- Huff N More Puff
- Xing Fu 888
- Double Wolf
- Dragon Spin
Good to know
- The resort features a 14-story, 185-foot hotel tower containing nearly 300 luxury guest rooms and suites, which is the tallest building in Clark County.
- The property includes a gaming floor spanning over 100,000 square feet with nearly 3,000 slot machines.
- The floor also offers 75+ table games, including Blackjack, Pai Gow Poker, Roulette, Craps, Texas Hold'em, 3 Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Midi-Baccarat, Bahama Bonus, and Blazing 777 Blackjack Progressive across 20 tables.
- The property's loyalty program is called Momentum.
- Includes a High Limit room with a VIP Lounge and a full-service sportsbook.
- ilani's main casino floor is a designated non-smoking gaming area covering slot machines, table games, electronic table games, and the sportsbook; a separate smoking lounge with slot machines sits next to the Meeting & Entertainment center.
- The floor has a Las Vegas-influenced design that keeps the layout open and navigable, with a large display of Cowlitz tribal photography and artwork at the entrance and a floor graphic reading 'We Are Here.'
- Guests consistently cite the clean, smoke-free air as a meaningful differentiator versus regional competitors.
- A regional gambling guide notes the property offers more than 32,000 square feet of no-smoking gaming space.
- ilani opened on April 24, 2017. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe gained federal recognition on February 14, 2000 with roughly 3,700 members but initially no reservation; it received a gaming license from the National Indian Gaming Commission in 2005, secured rights to a 152-acre reservation near La Center in 2013 (formally established March 2015), closed $510 million in project financing with the Mohegan Tribe in December 2015, broke ground February 14, 2016, and named the casino 'ilani' -- the Cowlitz word for 'sing' -- that June. The Cowlitz Tribe assumed full management control of the property in 2023.
- The casino sits on Interstate 5 about 25 miles north of Portland, Oregon, near La Center in Clark County, Washington; an estimated 15,000 people attended opening day, filling the 3,000-stall parking lot and causing an 8-mile traffic jam on I-5.
Browse more casino floors
See what's on the floor at other properties before your next trip.
© 2026 Ninefold Ventures LLC, d/b/a 6-Lab. All rights reserved.