In 1994, the Pokagon Band of Dowagiac, Michigan announced a plan to pursue a casino as a source of revenue. It took a dozen years but in 2006, ground was broken for the Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo Township. The impressive casino opened August 2, 2007 with 3,000 slot machines, several table games and six restaurants. Nearly 20,000 people visited the new facility the first weekend, surpassing casino officials’ expectation of 12,000-15,000 people each day.
The facility continues to surpass expectations, said Chief Operating Officer Frank Freedman. “I’ve been here since pre-opening. I came in April 2007. I’ve watched the casino operations grow and develop from the original property. The Pokagon Band has been here for a long time and is very respectful of the community and the environment, and everything we do has that in mind. We are involved in a tremendous number of ventures to try to give back. The list goes on and on,” he said.
When the casino first was announced, opponents expressed concerns about increased traffic and crime, including prostitution and embezzlement. But Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said those concerns did not materialize. “As our county grows and so many people visit every year, there could be a resulting increase in crime but I haven’t seen anything related to the casino,” he said, adding, “A lot of people are employed and have very good jobs now. And good jobs are good for the community.”
In addition, the tribe was sued by the anti-gambling group Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos. After years of litigation, the case eventually was thrown out by a federal court.
Two notable embezzlement cases related to the casino occurred recently. In 2015, former Berrien County Commissioner Robert Wooley was sent to prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from the senior center he directed. He admitted to being addicted to gambling and said he spent most of the money at Four Winds and other casinos. And in 2016, sheriff’s department employee JoAnn Roberts was jailed for embezzling nearly $80,000 from the department. She confessed she stole the money to feed a gambling problem.
Bailey noted, “But like with drinking and prohibition, you can’t ban something because some people abuse it. We can’t outlaw things that are entertainment for people who don’t have a problem with it because a few people do. Some people will get addicted and hopefully get help.”
Former New Buffalo Mayor and Councilman Jack Kennedy recalled, “I was on the city council when we approved the casino. At that time the city had a no-gambling ordinance, so we called a special meeting and at that point, with some reluctance, we elected to rescind that ordinance to allow a casino to open in our area.” He added there was “quite a bit of discussion” about potential prostitution and other crimes, but the council voted 5-0 to rescind the no-gambling ordinance. I was kind of the last one to vote. I weighed the good and the bad. Some of the concerns we had, it turns out that hasn’t been anything we’ve seen.”
Kennedy said although the casino has not spurred much business growth in New Buffalo, the revenue sharing money has financed major improvements. Pokagon casinos share two percent of slot machine revenue with New Buffalo, Hartford and Dowagiac. That money made it possible for New Buffalo to resurface the major downtown-area street and several side streets, plus put in curbs and gutters and replace old utility lines.
“What I have seen is improvements going on because of the casino because of the revenue sharing money. The street improvements, that’s a very strong plus. Those are major improvements, and there have been many others. The scholarship fund for students to go to college, my granddaughter got that, and at the high school there’s a $3 million utility gym that didn’t really cost the taxpayers anything. The Pokagons have been good neighbors as far as the city of New Buffalo. Anything I thought might trouble me, I haven’t seen. It’s been a very big plus for us,” Kennedy said.
