FireKeepers Casino Rolls Out The Red Carpet For First Machines
The newest casino in Michigan is still a couple of months from opening, but that did not stop the FireKeepers Casino in Calhoun County from rolling out the red carpet on Monday.
The excitement has been building over the past couple of months for the casino that will be located in the Emmitt Township, just about an hour south -southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The hype on Monday was all about slot machines. The casino in all will have 2,680 slots, and on Monday the first shipment of those machines arrived. The casino does not yet have an exact date for opening, but they are hoping that it happens sometime in August.
"Certainly we'd rather open in a booming economy than a down economy," said FireKeepers General Manager Bruce McKee, "but given our demographics here, our market, our location right on I-94, and the 50-to100-mile zone that we have before we run into competition....I think we're going to do just fine."
The FireKeepers Casino is the product of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians. The tribe has 1,000 members, and the revenue produced from the casino will help those members survive financially.
The state of Michigan is one of the leaders in the US when it comes to tribal casino gaming. There are currently eighteen tribal casinos. There are also three non-tribal casinos in Detroit, although one, Greektown, may be sold sometime in the near future.
June 1, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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