$300M hotel, massive ‘Aquadome’ aim to make Gun Lake Casino ‘first-class destination resort’

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Gun Lake On line casino hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for a $300 million undertaking that will add a 15-floor resort and a massive-scale “Aquadome” with 3 swimming pools and the potential to transform into a live performance venue and banquet centre.

The enlargement, explained CEO Sal Semola, will offer far more non-gaming enjoyment features, and change Gun Lake On line casino into Gun Lake Casino Vacation resort.

“The addition of the lodge is likely to broaden our geographic get to and our demographic enchantment,” he stated, speaking with reporters pursuing the groundbreaking. “It places us on a amount actively playing subject with our levels of competition.”

Located on the west side of Gun Lake On line casino, the 252-home hotel and six-tale Aquadome are expected to open in March 2025. The on line casino is in Wayland Township, just east of U.S. 131, about hallway among Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. It opened in 2011, and is owned by the Gun Lake Tribe.

Renderings unveiled at Thursday’s groundbreaking present sleek rooms in the lodge with hardwood flooring, blue upholstery, and substantial home windows. The resort has 30 suites and two-story suites on the top rated floors. HBG Style and design, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee, is overseeing the design and style of the enlargement, which officers are calling phase 5.

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Bob Peters, chairmen of the Gun Lake Tribe, mentioned the lodge and Aquadome will be “spectacular” and “nothing like you have observed around listed here.”

“While the procedure will just take 34 months, it will be some thing to delight in for many yrs to appear,” he mentioned.

The hotel and Aquadome are predicted to develop 350 work opportunities at the on line casino, which employs about 1,200 men and women now. The casino characteristics over 2,500 slots, 47 desk games, and 3 restaurants. A spokesperson suggests the casino has about 3 million visits each year.

Speaking right after the groundbreaking, Semola likened the Aquadome, which will boast palm trees, tropical flora and a calendar year-spherical temperature of 82 degrees, to a “unique and inviting oasis.”

The 32,000 sq. foot developing will host three pools — 1 for people, just one for visitors 21 and up, and another for VIP visitors. It will also have a phase for stay functions for up to 2,400 people.

In addition to the hotel and Aquadome, the growth will also aspect a new, 137 seat cafe, Sandhill Café.

The moment the resort and Aquadome open, Semola stated Gun Lake On line casino expects to draw in additional guests from throughout Michigan. At present, the on line casino primarily attracts website visitors from 30-60 miles away. But he hopes the expansion will lure gamblers and people from during the state, together with Southeast Michigan.

“It’s a unique practical experience,” Semola stated, when describing the profit of the hotel. “You come out, you stay right away, you appreciate by yourself a little bit far more. You really don’t have to hurry and so forth.”

He reported Gun Lake’s most important competition are FireKeepers On line casino Lodge in Battle Creek, Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, and Soaring Eagle On line casino & Vacation resort in Mt. Enjoyable. “Now we begin to present a lot of the exact facilities that they do,” Semola explained.

Seeking forward, he explained the lodge and Aquadome also provides a big benefit for the tribe and the West Michigan economic system, noting the short-term construction work developed mainly because of the undertaking.

“Not only does Phase 5 meet a present demand, but also it’s heading to assure the fiscal sovereignty extended-expression of the tribe for not just today but upcoming generations,” Semola claimed.

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