Indiana's newest casino, the Four Winds Casino in South Bend, opened its doors on Tuesday. The first tribal casino in Indiana is being run by the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Native Americans.
Indiana's newest casino, the Four Winds Casino in South Bend, opened its doors on Tuesday.
The first tribal casino in Indiana is being run by the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Native Americans. The tribe also runs three other Four Winds casinos in Michigan: in New Buffalo, Hartford and Dowagiac.
The 175,000-square-foot South Bend location has 1,800 games, four restaurants, three bars, a coffee shop, a parking garage and a merchandise shop. It also has a Players Lounge for copper-level 'W' members, which boasts a complimentary buffet and contemporary decor.
If you take U.S. 31 north all the way to South Bend, it's about a 150-mile drive from Downtown Indianapolis. That'll get you to the casino in roughly two and a half hours.
Other casinos in Indiana have expressed concerns that this new casino will hurt their businesses. After a Four Winds opened just across the state border in New Buffalo in 2007, the Blue Chip Casino Hotel Spa in Michigan City, Ind., lost $58 million in revenue and cut 165 employees in just one year.
More: What Indiana's first tribal casino could mean for the state
Tribal casinos don't have to pay state taxes. The South Bend location is likely to not just drain more business from Blue Chip, but it also could cause Indiana to lose millions in casino tax revenue.
The South Bend location of Four Winds is expected to employ around 1,200 people.
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Andrew Clark is a digital producer for IndyStar. Follow him on Twitter @Clarky_Tweets.