Casino opening draws a full house
By KIM SKORNOGOSKI
Tribune Staff Writer
ROCKY BOY'S RESERVATION — Bingo, keno, roulette, poker — Ty Watson likes them all. While he's never hit the high-rollers table at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Wednesday he caught a glimmer of big-city lights.
"It's a bit like Vegas in Box Elder," he said. "It could be a real good thing for northcentral Montana."
Considering what was once the vast Nevada desert is now a tourist destination, the Chippewa Cree Tribe figures building the Northern Winz Casino on an isolated stretch of U.S. Highway 87 is worth the gamble.
"We're taking a chance to bring some economic development to our community," Tribal Chairman John "Chance" Houle said above the din of clanking slot machines. "There are a lot of tribes that are envying what's going on with the Chippewa Cree Tribe."
Tribal members got their first peek at the 20,000-square-foot casino Wednesday.
The casino floor holds 350 slot-style bingo machines and 10 Montana keno and poker machines. A separate room called Cubby's Den, after the late Jon "Cubby" Morsette, features four live poker tables.
Because the reservation is a sovereign nation, it can offer the Vegas-style machines.
And state limits — like the cap of 20 machines and $800 maximum jackpots — don't apply to Northern Winz. The casino expects jackpots to hit $30,000.
Unlike the Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning, the Chippewa Cree have an agreement with the state, so they have both the slot-style and typical poker and keno machines, like those at Great Falls casinos.
The building can hold 900 people and an hour after the official opening, casino Manager Jim Rider figured it had reached the limit.
"It's already packed," Charlie Swan said between pulls on a silver slot handle. "It's better than I thought it'd be."
Swan, of Box Elder, already hit the jackpot. The casino employed him and others at Swan Electric for two months to do the lighting inside and out.
Rider, who previously ran tribal casinos in Michigan and Oklahoma, hired 140 employees to man the restaurant, sports bar and casino.
A free dinner was offered to all tribal members at the Starlight Steakhouse & Café, which seats as many as 110 people. Alcohol will be served only in Rattlesnake Bob's Sports Bar.
Wednesday night there was a line to get a seat at the poker tables. A rare cushy leather chair was open, usually in front of machines that were out of order.
The casino will spend the next month working out the kinks in the machines and giving employees time to adjust to the crowds. A more extravagant grand-opening ceremony is planned for March 30-31.
Rider said the casino will spend nearly $1 million in the next six months on advertising, prizes and other marketing maneuvers.
Wednesday, crowds crammed the courtesy counter to collect gift bags filled with hats, t-shirts, pens and coffee mugs emblazoned with the casino's logo.
Rider said that marketing, combined with the location on the busy highway between Havre and Great Falls, will help raise it above the competition — namely the 27,000 square-foot-Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning.
That facility recently replaced its manager and laid off staff when it failed to lure in the expected crowds.
With a leery eye on the Blackfeet, the Chippewa Cree are optimistic about the Northern Winz's potential.
Construction crews broke ground on the $18 million casino in May. The tribe invested $1.4 million in the casino.
A second phase, which will launch this spring includes an 80-room hotel, is expected to add $10 million to the price tag.
Rider said the hotel and its 5,000 square-foot conference room will be key to getting casino customers during the slow tourism months.
Several tribal leaders acknowledged that the casino has received criticism — some folks balked at the cost and others were concerned about selling liquor on a dry reservation.
But even the skeptics came to the opening ceremony to get a glimpse inside.
Bob Swan, business manager for the Chippewa Cree Community Development Corp., said the only thing keeping people from attending the opening was the Rocky Boy girls divisional basketball game played in Great Falls Wednesday night.
"When we cut that ribbon, we're going to open a gateway for our people," said tribal elder Ken Gopher, who offered a blessing for the new facility. "Everyone on this reservation is going to benefit from this casino." |
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