8.22.07State flush with new casinos
Expansion in Indian gambling comes as Detroit operations ready permanent facilities
Joel J. Smith / The Detroit News
The state's Indian gaming industry is poised for considerable growth with the opening of the $400 million Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo and two more casinos moving toward reality in southwest Michigan.
Gaming experts predict the three casinos -- the others are near Grand Rapids and Battle Creek -- will increase Indian gaming revenue by about 60 percent a year, injecting new life into an otherwise flat industry by drawing new customers from southwest Michigan and bordering states. Revenue from the state's other 17 Indian casinos has hovered around $900 million for several years.
"If there is any new Indian casino growth in Michigan, it will come from southwestern Michigan," said Larry Rosenthal, a Washington, D.C.-based casino consultant for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, which owns Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo.
The expansion in Indian gambling comes as Detroit's three gaming operations prepare to open permanent casinos and hotel and entertainment complexes -- a $1.3 billion investment. Two of them -- MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity -- will open within the next three months.
While the Detroit casinos also foresee revenue growth, gaming experts contend its three casinos will draw a different clientele than the Indian facilities. Their growth will come from business travelers and conventioneers who don't mind spending big money for luxury rooms and other amenities at their 400-room hotels and entertainment venues.
"None of the tribal casinos suffered when we had that last go around with the Detroit casinos opening in 1999-2000," said Tom Shields, a consultant who represents tribes on casino issues. "And Detroit won't suffer with the three new Indian casinos opening either. I expect these new Indian casinos to do $600 million in annual business. These casinos will offer the opportunity to draw gamblers from outside the state."
That kind of revenue would mean an additional $60 million in state tax money each year and $12 million in local taxes.
Casinos needed near border
While the state might seem saturated with Indian casinos, some regions, including southwest Michigan, have been void of gaming operations.
Michigan could easily handle 25 percent growth in the number of new casinos depending on where they are located, said Jacob L. Miklojcik, a Lansing-based gambling consultant.
"By adding new Indian casinos in Michigan, you would not grow the overall North American market," he said.
However, he said Michigan could draw more out-of-state gamblers with casinos near its borders. It also would help retain Michigan gamblers who frequent other states.
"It would keep those gambling dollars in the state," he said.
Four Winds latest to open
The Four Winds Casino Resort is the first Indian gaming facility to open in Michigan in about a decade.
Four Winds Casino has 165 rooms in a lodge-style hotel, six restaurants, and 130,000 square feet of gaming space. The casino boasts 3,000 slot machines, 100 table games and a poker room that can seat 158 players.
Off Interstate 94, just north of the Indiana border, the resort looks to draw gamblers from surrounding communities as well as Indiana and Illinois.
"Our market generally is the 50- to 100-mile driving radius," said Matt Harkness, general manager of Four Winds. "That's pretty standard for a casino. It's an untapped market for the kind of product we're offering."
Plans for the new casino were in the works for years. It was stalled by legal challenges financed by competitors -- some from Indiana -- who feared the new gaming facility would dig deep into their client base. A U.S. Court of Appeals eventually ruled in the tribe's favor, and the resort opened Aug. 2.
Firekeepers next to be built
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians overcame the same legal challenges to move ahead with their plans for Firekeepers Casino, which will open off I-94 near Battle Creek.
The tribe will break ground on a $60 million casino in September, with plans to open in late spring 2008. The casino will include a 130,000-square-foot gaming floor. A hotel is expected to be added at a later date.
The casino will employ 2,000 workers and expects nearly 3 million annual visitors, drawing gamblers from Lansing, Jackson, Ohio and Fort Wayne, Ind.
"It's a wonderful thing," said Linda Coss, 47, who lives across from the site in Emmett Township.
"Michigan's economy is so horrible now. Battle Creek is one of the worst in the horrible lot. We really need the employment. It's a win-win for the area."
Court decision awaited
Before moving ahead with plans for Gun Lake Casino off U.S. 131 south of Grand Rapids, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians has to overcome a federal court challenge.
The tribe faces the same legal issues as the others did and is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals. The tribe -- and gaming experts -- expect the court to rule in its favor.
Plans call for Gun Lake Casino in Wayland Township to have 2,500 slot machines and 80 gaming tables. Its market will include Grand Rapids, Holland and Kalamazoo.
"We will be ready to go in a relatively short period of time once the court rules on the case," said James Nye, a tribe spokesman.
"This has been a long time coming."
You can reach Joel J. Smith at (313) 222-2556 or jsmith@detnews.com .
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