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Milwaukee’s Iconic Gaming Destination
Potawatomi Casino Hotel is marking 35 years as a cornerstone in the city.
82 | milwaukeemag.com
PHOTO: COURTESY OF POTAWATOMI CASINO HOTEL
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ver 2,000 excited Milwaukeeans braved freezing little did anyone in attendance realize that a crowd of 2,000, soon temperatures to flock to the Menomonee Valley. It was enough, would seem quaint. Thirty-five years later, Potawatomi March 7, 1991, and the city was marking the opening Casino Hotel welcomes more than 6 million guests every year. of what was then called Potawatomi Bingo Hall. The What began as a bingo hall in a formerly barren stretch of land Sentinel reported on the “high-stakes, is now a thriving entertainment destination. high technology” bingo the Forest County The complex – which is celebrating its 35th anPotawatomi tribe was bringing to its new casino – the niversary this year with events and promotions – now Potawatomi Casino Hotel only off-reservation one in the state. boasts a 19-story hotel, a casino with hundreds of slot Just a couple years earlier, that same land had machines, table games, a poker room, restaurants that 1721 W. CANAL ST. been desolate – filled with toxic brownfields after break the “casino food” mold, and a one-of-a-kind 800-729-7244 years of heavy industry. But when the Forest County sportsbook. potawatomi.com Potawatomi regained some of their ancestral territory, “We started as a small bingo hall, and 35 years they had set about reviving and transforming it. later, here we are, continuing to build for the future,” “For generations, the marshes, rivers and wetlands says Dominic Ortiz, CEO & general manager of in the Menomonee Valley sustained our people,” Potawatomi Casino Hotel. “We’re building for the says Brooks Boyd, the Forest County Potawatomi future of gaming, sports, music, entertainment, our chairman. “When we built Potawatomi Casino Hotel, city and most important, the future of the Forest we were creating economic opportunity – and we County Potawatomi community and tribe. were coming home. For us, this place represents a return to our The casino hotel’s nearly $200 million renovation, completed homelands and a promise to remain part of the Valley’s future. in 2025, ushers in a new era with updated gaming floors, state-ofIt is a way to honor those who came before us while bringing the-art technology, new restaurants and more. “We’re continually prosperity to the Forest County Potawatomi today.” seeking new opportunities to provide the best possible experience The effort reached fruition on that March day in 1991 – but for our guests,” says Ortiz. ◆