The purchase of Sands Bethlehem by Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians—it will be renamed Wind Creek Bethlehem—represents the “next frontier” for gaming tribes, according to Gene Johnson, executive vice president of Indian gaming advisory firm Victor-Strategies.
At a panel during the NIGA Indian Gaming Tradeshow in Las Vegas, Johnson said the Sands purchase, along with other commercial casino ventures such as the Mohegan Tribe’s pending resort in South Korea and the Hard Rock International ownership by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, represent the next logical step for tribal gaming.
“Pursuing the commercial license is the next frontier,” said Johnson. “Tribal gaming has really grown tremendously over the last 30 years, and tribes are increasingly moving off the reservation to compete in the commercial gaming market. There are many examples…
“This is the next wave of Indian gaming, because the growth of greenfield development has slowed, and revenues have plateaued. Tribal gaming has reached a level of competence in both finance and operations… It is at a point it can take off.”
Wind Creek Hospitality, an arm of the Poarch Band, announced earlier this year it is buying Sands Bethlehem, the 183,000-square-foot casino and 282-room hotel at the former site of the Bethlehem Steel Works. Robert McGhee, vice chairman of the Poarch Band tribal council, told the panel the Sands purchase, in addition to the revenue opportunity it provides, will serve as a hedge against any potential adverse developments in its Alabama Class II gaming market.
“If they shut down gaming or expand gaming throughout the state, we would take a financial hit,” McGhee said. “We looked outside the state of Alabama to protect the revenue that we have coming in that provides for our government programs. The tribe has invested so much into economic development opportunities and services we provided to members—health care, education and law enforcement. The infrastructure we have built for the members of our community… we could not put that in jeopardy.”
