Situation
Before expansion, the property formerly known as San Manuel Casino, operated as a successful 24/7 day-use casino with an ad hoc event space. The next chapter of rebranding to Yaamava’ added a hotel, a significantly expanded gaming floor, and a large performance venue, all of which demanded solutions to tough logistical realities, including complex vehicular circulation, increased parking demand, and the need to bring massive structures down to human scale. The goal was to elevate the guest experience, improve throughput, and express tribal pride through a contemporary landscape.
* Current Storylander Rob Moffat completed this project prior to joining the Storyland Studios team.
Solution
Part of Rob Moffat and his team’s role was to help redesign the approach, valet, and VIP drop-offs to move guests quickly out of their cars and into the resort with minimal friction—achieved through close coordination with the architectural and civil teams. In addition, an elevated pool deck was created, serving as a day-and-night outdoor experience with landscape, hardscape, and water features that deliver respite in the desert. Across the campus, a desert-appropriate variety of palms bring color, texture, and shade while right-sizing the scale of adjacent parking structures. The tall palms and layered planting serve double duty as identity and intuitive wayfinding, guiding visitors from the street to the heart of the resort.
Transformation
What had been a pure gaming destination now operates as a complete resort ecosystem, with hotel, entertainment offerings, and outdoor amenities working together to broaden variety and diversify revenue. The landscape architecture softens a highly urban context into a memorable oasis, turning concrete first impressions into a premium arrival and a reason to return. In the spirit of “Yaamava’,” meaning “spring,” in the Serrano language, the expanded property ushers in a new era for guests and the community alike—one that, like a spring itself, embodies life and renewal.
