Person Falls to Their Death at Emerald Queen Casino Near Seattle
Posted on: December 22, 2025, 09:36h.
Last updated on: December 22, 2025, 10:07h.
- A person died at the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday night
- The incident remains under investigation
- Law enforcement says the person fell to their death inside the tribal casino
One person is dead and another injured after what appears to be an accident occurred inside the Emerald Queen Casino in downtown Tacoma, Wash.
Law enforcement says they responded to the Tacoma Emerald Queen Casino, one of two tribal casinos under the brand owned and operated by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, with the other just east in Fife, around 9:20 pm local time on Saturday night after receiving calls for an emergency incident.
First responders found one person on the resort’s ground floor near the escalators who apparently fell from above. The person was pronounced dead on the scene.
A fire crew spokesperson relayed that it appeared the deceased had fallen through a glass barrier above where the casino’s slot machines and table games operate. Another person was injured but sustained only minor injuries.
The Tacoma Emerald Queen Casino is about 25 miles south of downtown Seattle.
Casino Renovation
Tacoma first responders had few details on the Emerald Queen Casino incident. They directed local media to the Puyallup tribal police, which is handling the investigation as the event occurred within the tribal property. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy.
The Tacoma EQC opened in June 2020. The $400 million casino resort has 2,100 slots, 60 live-dealer table games, a 155-room hotel, six restaurants, and a 250-seat center bar.
The tribe says the Tacoma Emerald Queen boasts a “Vegas-style gambling floor.” The modern design features large, multifloor open spaces connected by escalators. The casino is located on the fourth floor, with escalators taking guests up from the lobby’s ground level.
At this juncture, there’s nothing to suggest that the fall resulted from foul play. Whether the person intentionally jumped is additionally unknown at this time.
The Puyallup tribe operated a riverboat casino that had been docked in the Port of Tacoma for a quarter-century. The riverboat shuttered in 2004 through an agreement with the city to accommodate additional commercial development of the waterway.
In exchange, the tribe was allowed to build a brick-and-mortar casino in nearby Fife and allowed to continue running a gaming hall in Tacoma in a tent-like structure.
Casino Falls
In February, a man fell from the 20th floor of Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino in Stateline, Nev. The 31-year-old man from California, police later determined, committed suicide by jumping from his hotel room balcony.
The man landed near the casino’s valet entrance and was pronounced dead on the scene. The casino has since been rebranded to Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe.
In January 2021, a 29-year-old woman fell to her death from an upper floor of the Ocean Casino Resort parking garage in Atlantic City. The incident was later ruled a suicide.
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