Michigan’s Island Casino to Build $30M Extension as State Moves Forward with Sports Betting

Posted on: January 17, 2020, 09:29h. 

Last updated on: January 17, 2020, 10:54h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Michigan’s Island Resort & Casino is progressing on a major addition after approval was given by the Hannahville Indian Community Tribal Council. It could be finished as soon as 2021.

As part of the $30 million upgrade, the Harris tribal property will see 11 stories added to the existing Palm Tower, according to WLUC. The top floor will feature an upscale restaurant and meeting room.

The hotel will get another 140 rooms in addition to the existing 300 rooms. Also, a water park and pool will be located near the hotel.

The addition is needed, given the number of current players at the casino, numerous convention attendees, and golfers, according to casino officials.

We have a high demand,” Tony Mancilla, general manager of Island Resort & Casino, told WLUC. “We sold out 95 percent of our rooms every day of the summer, and on the weekends, we have waiting lists anywhere up to 200 people, so we have a high demand for the rooms.”

Quintus 3D, a North Beldenville, Wisconsin architectural and planning firm, will provide designs and engineering services. The same firm designed the Island Resort & Casino’s existing Drift Spa, hotel lobby, and retail space.

Gundlach Champion, based in Iron Mountain, Michigan, will oversee construction management at Island Resort. Previously, Gundlach Champion constructed the Island hotel’s Sun Tower and 1998 casino expansion, according to The Daily Press.

Over the next several months, design and engineering will take place for the $30 million project. Bids will be submitted, too. In June, construction will kick off.

The current gaming floor features a 408,520 square-foot casino. It includes numerous slots — with over 1,200 games – a poker room, craps, blackjack, roulette, and bingo. The Island Resort & Casino has a 1,315-seat entertainment area.

Athletic Wagering Approved in Michigan

Elsewhere in Michigan, FireKeepers Casino, which is operated in Battle Creek by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, is to soon feature athletic wagering, according to the Battle Creek Enquirer. The tribe chose Scientific Games Corporation to provide sports book services.

Last month, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed the Lawful Sports Betting Act. The law allows the state’s Gaming Control Board to provide sports betting licenses to the state’s tribal casinos, as well as three commercial casinos in Detroit.

In December, Michigan became the 20th state in the US to pass laws to govern sports betting. Michigan sports betting licenses will cost $100,000. They can be renewed annually at $50,000.

Tribal sportsbooks will be taxed at 8.4 percent. Detroit’s commercial casino sports books will be taxed at 11.75 percent due to the city’s mandatory 3.25 percent add-on tax on all forms of gambling.

Michigan Tribes Partner for Sports Betting

A few weeks ago, PointsBet Holdings Ltd. and the Stars Group Inc. (TSG) separately announced sports betting agreements with Michigan tribal gaming operators.

Australia-based PointsBet said it inked an accord with Lac Vieux Desert Public Enterprise and Finance Commission (LVD), the gaming arm of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

By some estimates, daily fantasy sports, online casinos, and sports wagering will generate $19 million in revenue for Michigan, the eighth-largest state.