River Cree Resort & Casino

Enoch, Alberta

In July 2005 GE Electrical Distribution, together with MCL Power of Edmonton, put together a customized electrical package for the River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch Alberta. The project was on a very aggressive timeline and required customization to reduce power consumption requirements and lower overall electrical costs. Together GE and MCL Power presented a competitive electrical solution that more than met the client's needs and were awarded the job. The River Cree Resort & Casino, dubbed the "Taj Mahal of Edmonton Casinos," opened in October 2006 - two months ahead of schedule.

When the Enoch Cree Band and Paragon Gaming of Las Vegas threw the switch at the River Cree Resort & Casino on October 26th, 2006, the winter skies on the outskirts of Edmonton Alberta burned brightly in the dark winter night. The newly opened River Cree Resort & Casino, a casino, hotel and sports complex located just 16 miles from downtown Edmonton, featured a 255-room Marriott Hotel, three restaurants, two ice rinks, a casino, a health club, and a business center. The 65,000 square foot resort and casino was a complex commercial project which, from start to finish, was on a fast track to completion. This complex project required a complete solution to meet the client's needs in a very short timeframe.

The project was both complex and fast-tracked from the outset. The GE Electrical Distribution team knew that serving the electrical needs of this large commercial site would require the timely and accurate delivery of all specified GE Electrical Distribution products. Designing the best and most cost-effective solution for the casino required a close partnership between GE and the electrical contractor (MCL Power) including ongoing project coordination between electrical distributors and the team at MCL Power.

Mark Rattai, Vice President of MCL Power, first approached GE Electrical Distribution to supply the electrical power products for the Enoch Casino based on previous successful projects he had worked on with GE. Chris Noble (GE Technical Sales) put together a final product list of GE Electrical Distribution products that included GE E9000 Series LV Motor Control Centers, GE Spectra Series Switchboards, GE Spectra Panleboards, GE A-Series Panelboards, HD Safety Switches, GE Manual Motor Starters, and GE Lighting Contactors.

GE Electrical Distribution's first proposal to MCL Power required modificationsto meet the changing project needs. As Mark Rattai, Vice President,MCL Power explained, "The casino project was fast tracked, there was no time to waste at any stage. We needed an accurate and comprehensive quote quickly in order to respond to the bid, and when faced with client requirements for lower power consumption and a lower cost package we turned to GE for new specifications and direction. We were extremely impressed with GE's ability to re-draw the specifications to meet the client's demands. The new GE specifications were done quickly, professionally and to the client's complete satisfaction. It's crucial to work with a partner you trust when dealing with a complex fast-tracked project. GE is an excellent partner and they really delivered for us on this project."

With little time to waste, GE Electrical Distribution turned to their project experts at GE Services. With wide-ranging expertise in project streamlining, the team at GE Services reviewed the original proposal and through an extensive re-design were able to reduce the number of panels and breakers in the original specification; in just 2 weeks GE was able to take a new single line to the project's Consulting Engineer Cohos to reduce power consumption and costs associated with the project.

GE's Commented Chris Noble, "GE Services and GE Electrical Distribution worked together to take the original specification and turn around a new solution that addressed the customer's needs. As a team GE was able to combine a few panels and generate a completely new single line drawing in just 2 weeks. While this certainly reduced the number of GE products and the overall size of the package, the customer benefitted and to GE that is what matters."

With the additional pressure of needing to regenerate the proposal to meet additional client requirements, timelines were even tighter. GE's Chris Noble explained, "We were able to place our orders in time to meet the client's delivery dates and ensure that the project stayed on target. We were also pleased to find that all GE products were delivered successfully to the client."

Concluded MCL's Mark Rattai, "It's one thing to put together a winning bid, it's another to deliver on it. GE delivered the products they said they would on time and the quality was excellent. We were satisfied with all our orders and pleased to see Chris Noble (GE Technical Sales) on site as required to guarantee the project ran smoothly.

GE Electrical Distribution showed amazing commitment to the success of the overall project from start to finish."

River Cree Resort & Casino, Enoch Alberta