It was 15 years ago this month that we first opened the doors of our Chumash Casino to an enthusiastic crowd — including many guests who continue to visit us today.

We opened with 210 slot machines, a few table games, bingo and an expectation of success. Little did we know that the casino would prove to be the beginning of our tribe’s venture into the world of successful entrepreneurialism and turn us into the largest employer in the Santa Ynez Valley.

When we first began our gaming venture 15 years ago, one of our goals was to offer local residents an entertainment option. As we learned when we opened for the first time in 1994, gaming was an entertainment option that was welcomed with open arms and happy faces.

The line to walk through the doors on that first day was wrapped around the original stucco building, and guests were excited to try their hand at gaming in a friendly environment.

In addition to gaming, we have offered entertainment in the form of performances from legendary rockers, award-winning country artists and laugh-out-loud comedians. Offering 15 years of solid performances has placed us on the entertainment map permanently, and we were nominated by the Academy of Coun-try Music as casino of the year — one of only a handful of casinos across the U.S. to be nominated.

Fun games and exciting performers aside, guests tell us that they have returned to our facility again and again because of the service. Our employees understand customer service and they practice it every moment that they are on property. We regularly conduct in-depth customer service training sessions through our Chumash University to ensure that our employees are kept up-to-date on ways to make our customers feel special while they are being entertained on our property.

Another goal when we first began this venture 15 years ago was have a business that not only provided employment opportunities for our tribal members and their families, but also to maintain a business that placed us on the road to economic self-sufficiency. In the beginning, many of our tribal members worked in various departments of the casino. Today, many of our children work at the Chumash Casino Resort. We have been able to parlay the success of our casino into other successful ventures over the years, including a hotel and restaurant in Solvang — Hotel Corque and Root 246, a restaurant created by celebrity chef Bradley Ogden. These additional business ventures con- tinue to help us march solidly down the long road to economic self-sufficiency and ensure that future generations of our tribe will have a solid economic foundation.

In many ways, it’s hard to believe that 15 years have flown by. It seems like only yesterday that we all held our breath when the doors opened that fateful day in May 1994 and then released our breath and anxiety as the crowd happily filled the room and angled for seats in front of slot machine or at a table game.

To commemorate 15 years of bringing quality entertainment to the Santa Ynez Valley, the Chumash Casino Resort’s marketing and promotions department has plenty of fun activities planned for our guests. Visit the Club Chumash desk at the Resort to learn about the 15-year-anniversary celebration activities — and celebrate with us.

Richard Gomez is the vice chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.