The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s $40 million expansion at its flagship Ojibwa Casino in Marquette, Michigan will open by the end of the year, said General Manager Larry Denomie. The project will include a 1,200-seat event center, 400-person convention space and more than 500 new slot machine.
The tribe’s Ojibwa Casino in Baraga also recently completed a $7 million upgrade including the interior, restaurant, hotel rooms and ventilation system.
Denomie said, “The Marquette project is on target to be completed within budget, and I’m hopeful, slightly under budget. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will have invested nearly $50 million into the Baraga and Marquette Casinos when all is said and done–a historical and much needed investment.”
He added, “The new Marquette Casino is going to be beautiful and unique to any other casino in the region. Of course we are disappointed that we weren’t able to get the hotel into Phase I of the project, but with good working relationships with hoteliers in the Marquette area and a robust transportation program, we will make sure our customers are able to safely enjoy the new casino while leaving the driving to get to their hotel in town to us.”
The tribe recently distributed $1.31 million to local communities and the state of Michigan, including $263,037.34 to Marquette County and Baraga County, representing 2 percent of net win from all Class III electronic games at the two Ojibwa Casino locations. Another 8 percent of the Class III net win, slightly more than $1 million, went to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
