The land on which the Clearwater Casino is sited was purchased by the Suquamish in 1988 and, early on, hosted a tribal smoke shop.

A 1991 attempt by the tribe to re-designate the site as tribal territory failed due to the presence of liens on the property.

The tribe began another attempt to have the casino property re-designated trust land in 2003, a process that finally saw fruition in 2009.

Prior to the transfer, local government officials estimated the re-designation would cost the county approximately $458,000 per year in lost tax revenue.

[4] In 2007, trade magazine Indian Gaming reported the tribe's several businesses, of which the casino is the largest, created a local economic impact of more than $138 million.