Mazatzal Hotel & Casino

Will Mazatzal Hotel & Casino operate a sportsbook?

In July 2021, the Tonto Apache Tribe entered into a partnership with TwinSpires to potentially bring the sportsbook into Arizona. Owned by Churchill Downs Inc., TwinSpires would aim to launch a retail sportsbook as well as online sports betting in AZ. TwinSpires already operates in six other jurisdictions, including in nearby Colorado.

Nothing is guaranteed that TwinSpires will go live in Arizona, however. The state only has 10 licenses available for tribes, but the Arizona Department of Gaming has received 16 applications. Hope still remains, though, that the state will grant a license to the Tonto Apache Tribe, which runs Mazatzal Hotel & Casino.

For now, though, the property remains focused on casino gaming. Sports fans can still visit the Apache Spirits Sports Bar and enjoy watching popular games with a tasty snack and a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. If Mazatzal’s operator decides to include sports betting, the sports bar will be the most likely place to take wagers.

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino – slots & casino games

Visitors to Mazatzal Hotel & Casino are offered the following selection of slots and table games:

Slot machines

The property features approximately 400 slots from various land-based casino game developers. In addition to reel slots, you’ll find plenty of video poker and video keno options on the gaming floor. You’ll notice many new slots but also a large number of beloved classics. Let’s check some of them out.

• White Tiger — White Tiger is a slot by Aristocrat, one of US’s leading retail slot machine developers. The game is inspired by the popular animal and features a 5×3 grid with five paylines. Lucky players can even land a stacked wild and trigger a respin with a multiplier. White Tiger often has a progressive jackpot and features a bonus round with ten free spins.
• PinBall High Limit Slot — This game is actually a combination of traditional and modern, given that there’s a mechanical bonus round while the rest of the game is a reel slot. The slot features a three-reel structure, and it’s as flashy as it can get.
• Grizzly Bear — Also made by Aristocrat, the Grizzly Bear slot machine is legendary. Players help a hungry bear catch fish in a rapid river by spinning the reels. What makes it stand out from the pack is the interesting bonus round where players move the bear, trying to grab some fish with its paw as they are sailing upstream. The more fish the bear manages to catch, the bigger the bonus round win.
• Vibrant 7 — This is a Konami slot that became so popular among players that the company released several other sequels. The original is a 5×3 game that looks like a mechanical slot and features the traditional symbols on the reels, such as sevens and bars. Some of the symbols can trigger a free spins bonus or even double up your winnings.
• Golden Gecko — Developed by IGT, Golden Gecko, is inspired by lizards and a wide array of bonus rounds. The game has a 5×4 grid structure and features fantastic animations and gameplay. Most importantly, it has a four-tier jackpot that can award lucrative prizes to the luckiest players.

Of course, the list of available slots is much longer, and most of them are created by industry-leading providers, including Aristocrat, IGT, Konami, and others.

Table games

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino has five tables where you can play blackjack, three-card poker, and bonus bet blackjack. Players can also make some popular side bets, such as Push 22, Push Your Luck, TriLux, and Buster Blackjack.

Unlike slots, which are available 24/7, table games are only available from Sunday to Thursday from 1 PM to 1 AM and Friday and Saturday from 11 AM to 1 AM. Please understand that the working hours of table games might change from time to time, so make sure to double-check them before visiting the casino.

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino poker room

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino in Payson, AZ, features a small poker room with two tables. However, in case of high demand, the casino offers the possibility of setting up a third table. Players can enjoy no-limit Hold ‘em tournaments. If you’re into cash games, you’ll find limit Omaha and limit Hold ‘em as available options. The tournaments take place at 6 PM every Wednesday and Sunday. You can also earn extra tournament chips to use as a buy-in for tournaments by playing cash games. An hour of cash game action awards you $100 in tournament chips, three hours equals $500 in chips, and five hours becomes $1,000 in chips.

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino racing

Unfortunately, Mazatzal does not offer horse or greyhound racing options. If the property decides to introduce sports betting, visitors might be able to enjoy pari-mutuel wagering. However, there is no information about this as of yet.

Players Club rewards program

Mazatzal Hotel and Casino features an interesting rewards program called Players Club. The program is tiered, consisting of three different levels — one feather, two feather, and three feather. To progress through tiers, players need to collect base points by playing games.

The Players Club stand is open daily from 8 AM to 11 PM, and everyone can join. New members even get a $10 bonus. However, to reach the first level, you need to collect at least 50,000 base points. The two feather tier comes with at least 100,000 base points, while the three feather tier players need to collect more than 200,000 base points to join. If you manage to reach the last level, you can enjoy all kinds of benefits, including priority restaurant seating, priority concert and event seating, more bonuses, higher incentives, and even reserved parking.

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino responsible gambling program

Mazatzal advocates responsible gambling. The minimum age required to enter the casino is 21. If you or someone you know has developed a gambling problem, make sure to call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, which is the official number of Arizona’s Department of Gaming — Problem Gambling. Alternatively, you can send the text message NEXT-STEP to 53342 or read more about gambling and related risks on the ADG’s official website.

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino history and ownership

Mazatzal Hotel & Casino is owned and operated by the Tonto Apache Tribe, which inhabits the part of Arizona where the property is located. The tribe acquired the right to the present-day reservation in 1970, and the Mazatzal Hotel & Casino is one of its main projects that aims to improve the tribe’s overall quality of life, health, education, and more. Moreover, part of the revenue is given to various charitable causes in Payson and the Arizona Rim County area. The tribe opened the casino in 1993, and it has been operating successfully ever since.