Indiana’s Four Winds South Bend Casino opens expanded gaming floor
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds Casinos hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
US.- The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds Casinos hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to inaugurate the expanded gaming floor at Four Winds South Bend, in Indiana. The 98,000-square feet venue now features 1,900 slot machines, 27 table games, a new high limit area, an additional cage, and cashier area.
The expanded gaming floor at Indiana’s venue now features 11 new table games and a total of 850 new slot machines, including Dragon Link, Cash Express, Big Fish, Buffalo Link, and Wheel of Fortune. A video poker section has also been created with an additional 56 games.
Rebecca Richards, tribal chairwoman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi said: “It’s hard to believe we opened our first Four Winds Casino location 15 years ago in New Buffalo, Michigan on August 2, 2007. We couldn’t be more proud of the success of our four casino locations, which is a credit to our hardworking casino operations team and all of our Four Winds team members. We’d also like to thank our project manager, general contractors, construction workers and vendors in helping us reach this important milestone.”
Frank Freedman, chief operating office of Four Winds Casinos added: “Today’s unveiling of the newly expanded gaming floor at Four Winds South Bend will provide guests with a glimpse of what’s to come for the remaining build-out. During our 15-year-history we’ve continually strived to not only offer something distinctively unique, but also raise the bar for gaming in the Midwest by way of our amenities, dining options, entertainment and excellent service provided by our warm and welcoming staff.”
The new gaming floor is part of a large-scale expansion at the venue, which will also feature a new 23-story hotel tower with 317 hotel rooms including 83 suites. The hotel will also offer a spa, a convention area with a ballroom and meeting space, a cafe, and an outdoor swimming pool. The expansion will be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
The expansion of Four Winds South Bend has created 350 construction jobs, and will create an additional 350 to 400 new jobs at the casino resort once construction is finished. The project was first announced in September 2019 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and workforce challenges. In August 2021, the venue received approval for Class III gaming.
In November, Winds Casino South Bend announced the opening of its sportsbook. Six sportsbook kiosks are available 24 hours on the gaming floor.
Indiana sports betting handle down but revenue rises in July
Indiana’s sports betting handle for July was $206.6m. That’s 19 per cent lower than June’s $256.3m, but 6.2 per cent higher year-on-year, compared to $194.5m in July 2021. Indiana sportsbooks have accepted $2.5bn in wagers through the first seven months of 2022.
According to the Indiana Gaming Commission, Indiana bookmakers generated $20.9m in taxable revenue for July. That’s 32.3 per cent higher than June, when operators generated $15.8m in taxable revenue. July’s revenue was also up 19.4 per cent year-on-year.
