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Tribes installed the card tables and slot machines long ago, and a few added extras like spas and golf courses.

Now, across New Mexico's American Indian country, a new wave of construction aims at drawing in even more customers by giving them a place to sleep and meet, not just play and relax.

The Pueblo of Laguna is scheduled to break ground this afternoon on a 150-room hotel next to the Route 66 Casino, on the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque.

Late last month, Isleta Pueblo held its own groundbreaking ceremony for a 201-room hotel and convention center.

Earlier this summer, the Sandia Pueblo opened a resort that features a 228-room hotel, accommodating those traveling to the pueblo's new golf course and spa.

And farther north, in the Espa¤ola valley, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo) is building a convention center designed to hold 2,000 people. It already has a hotel.

The development is about one thing: more customers from more far-flung areas.

"I think it will enable us to reach out to more people," said Dennis Leong, the chief of gaming for Laguna Development Corp., the business arm of the Pueblo of Laguna.

That could include passing motorists and truckers interested in gaming but also interested a good night's rest, he said.

Besides those passing by, a hotel also expands the pool of people who will drive long distances just to visit a specific attraction, such as a casino, spa or concert venue, according to Rodney Ferguson, Isleta Casino and Resort's general manager.

"Our current market is the locals," he said.

If people have a place to sleep, however, Ferguson hopes they will come from west Texas, southern Colorado and eastern Arizona. The resort's golf course, stocked fishing ponds and camping areas act as an additional lure.

"With the funds generated from gaming, we're able to capitalize on that and expand into more entertainment," he said.

"Diversifying into other businesses is what's happening," said Ohkay Owingeh Gov. Joe Garcia. The end goal of creating lots of jobs for tribal members and others remains unchanged, he added.

Garcia hopes that the new convention center will attract groups from Los Alamos National Laboratory and elsewhere around the region.

Others are shooting higher: Ferguson said the Isleta Pueblo will eventually go head to head with Las Vegas, Nev., and Atlantic City, N.J., competing for the national gambling and entertainment tourism dollar.

Isleta Pueblo's niche, he said, could be in offering the same types of gambling, but with more family-friendly activities such as bowling and camping. Las Vegas, meanwhile, is busy reclaiming a rougher past with the famous "what happens here stays here" advertising campaign.

Plus, Ferguson said, New Mexico's climate is better.

"You don't have to worry about going outside," he said.