By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
NEW BUFFALO – Four Winds Casino Resort marked a construction milestone Tuesday with a steel-signing ceremony and placement of the final 26-ton structural beam.
The Dowagiac-based Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Lake Entertainment Inc. of Minneapolis commemorated completion of more than 2,000 tons of steel used in making the $400 million Berrien County development for which ground was broken June 3.
Signatures became a permanent part of the casino as the final beam was hoisted into place by a 110-ton crane atop a six-lane, 90-foot vehicle port which makes the entryway resemble an airport terminal.
"By signing this beam, we are marking the progress of Four Winds Casino in anticipation of its completion next year," said Chairman John Miller. "This is an exciting time for the project because the shape and size of the buildings are now clearly apparent. Our construction team has done an outstanding job keeping on schedule."
The ceremony included the Pokagon Band Elders Council, Lakes Entertainment, members of the construction team, Christman Kraus-Anderson of Lansing, and new casino General Manager Matt Harkness.
Trusses were trundled in on multiple trucks and assembled on site over several weeks.
Alongside the tribal flag and American flag fluttering from a girder was a fir tree.
"To the steelworkers, the tree represents that the structure was developed safely and in harmony with its surroundings and nobody was injured," Miller explained. "This tree will actually be planted in the ground to solidify today's moment when we actually did the signing and set this large final structure of steel."
"Our determined patience and hard work have allowed us to become one step closer to having the casino that will serve as an economic development tool for the tribe and this local community," Miller continued. "There are currently more than 60 tribal members and more than 400 local workers from the region who have been hired to work on this project to date.
"Upon completion in early 2007, 2,100 new jobs will be created as the result of Four Winds Casino," Miller stated. "These opportunities are much-needed in this area. Today represents the completion of the exterior of Four Winds Casino Resort."
Harkness joined Four Winds a month ago, bringing more than 25 years of New Jersey gaming experience, including Atlantic City work for Donald Trump.
"I'm very honored to be here and to be chosen to work with the Pokagon Band," Harkness said. "It offers a venue for gaming patrons that is going to be unparalleled in this area. Aside from that, it's also going to offer opportunity to over 2,000 employees who are going to have jobs. That's going to really benefit the entire local economy. The building of this project is already helping the local economy."
For example, one New Buffalo company has poured more than 300,000 yards of concrete.
If Four Winds, with 130,000 square feet of gaming, was built in Las Vegas it would be second in size to only MGM Grand Casino Resort.
"I look forward to the continued progress of this project, leading up to the casino," Harkness said. "When it's open it will be the premier gaming resort in this area. I'm proud to be associated with the people who are involved in this – the Pokagon Band, Lakes Entertainment and the construction group."
Tim Cope, president of Lakes Entertainment, Four Winds' management company, commented, "This ceremony is really a tribute to the Pokagon tribe and their unyielding determination to prevail in the goal to become self-sufficient.
"This final steel beam, I believe, is a humble reminder of the sacrifice and the patience of those who have made this project a reality that's finally coming to fruition. Thanks to the construction team doing the Four Winds project, we're moving ahead, we're on schedule, on budget and we look to be fully enclosed with the whole project, including the hotel and parking garage, in December. The human resource building, just behind here, will be the first to open Feb. 1. That will be used to start our hiring and training process for the 2,000-plus employees we anticipate will be employed here next August when we open this project. Today really is about anticipation and excitement … Full speed ahead, and watch out Blue Chip!" – a reference to its Michigan City, Ind., competitor.
Marge Moody, Elders Council chair, said, "Today's the day we've looked forward to where we can become self-sufficient. Four Winds will provide this opportunity. We have long awaited economic development, educational programs and family services to our members. Today's ceremony signifies an exciting milestone that we have looked forward to. Our ancestors held steadfast and wouldn't allow anyone or anything to break their spirit – and I know our Pokagon members will continue to follow on their footsteps. I only wish my brother, Henry White, could be here. He would have been so happy, as well as my mother."
Four Winds is located on I-94 at Michigan Exit 1 in New Buffalo Township.
It will be the only land-based casino within 150 miles of southwest Michigan.
The resort will offer 130,000 square feet of gaming floor with 3,000 slot machines, 90 table games and 20 poker tables.
It will also feature six restaurants, entertainment bars and retail opportunities, making the 164-room suite hotel a destination resort for Midwest tourism.