The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi are adding the FireKeepers PitStop and hosting Michigan’s largest poker tournament at its growing FireKeepers Casino near Battle Creek.
The $300,000 Mid States Poker Tour got underway at FireKeepers on March 25 and runs through May 15. The tournament is the state’s largest, and has a televised main event scheduled to run four days.
The event is being held in FireKeepers 14-table poker room, and a 15-minute tape delay enables viewers watching at home to see contestants’ hole cards during the four-day main event, which starts May 12.
Located along the highly traveled I-94 corridor between Detroit and Chicago, the casino in April broke ground on the expansion, which will add a gas station, car wash, and convenience store for hotel and casino visitors, as well as passersby.
The new PitStop is located next to the casino, which last year debuted a new hotel addition. The PitStop is slated to open for business this summer.
Regular visitors to the casino will be able use their rewards points for discounted pricing in their gasoline purchases, the tribe announced.
The casino also reopened its popular 24-hour café, after adding new lighting and other interior design elements during a months-ling renovation begun in January.
The tribe also plans to demolish its sports bar and replace it with a more contemporary bar with a broader consumer appeal.
