Ho-Chunk Gaming in Wittenberg, Wisconsin recently debuted its $33 million expansion on Highway 45. Senior Public Relations Manager Katrina Wychesit said visitors were lined up at the door, hoping to be among the first 600 guests who received bags with guaranteed prizes from reward play to up to $5,000 cash. Wychesit said, “We increased our staffing by nearly 90 permanent jobs. We are definitely driving tourism to the village and we are enhancing our community relations. We are contributing to the growth of the area.” She said the facility still has openings for employees.
The expanded gaming floor—now twice as large as before–has a non-smoking area, high-stakes room and additional, new slot machines. The expansion also includes an 86-room, 5-story hotel, a snack bar, 80-seat restaurant and two full-service bars.
Wychesit said players can accumulate free or discounted meals along with free hotel stays as part of the property’s rewards program.
In 2016 the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, owners of the North Star Mohican Casino located 20 miles from Wittenberg, filed a lawsuit claiming the Ho-Chunk expansion violated a gaming compact. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe filed their lawsuit too late, after the statue of limitations had passed.
