UPPING THE ANTE

The Menominee Nation on Thursday celebrated the grand opening of the second phase of the Menominee Casino Resort — a 25,000 square-foot casino facility that will complete the building project started eight years earlier.

The first phase of the resort, finished in 2010, was the conference center and hotel. Plans for the building were first hashed out in 2007, according to Jim Reiter, general manager for Menominee Casino Resort, but the tribe could not afford to do the whole project at once.

Reiter told a crowd of more than 100 at Thursday’s ribbon cutting ceremony that the focus of the second phase was to connect the hotel with the casino. The old Bingo hall, first built in 1982, was demolished and moved into where the casino had been previously, and the new casino was built between the old gaming facility and the hotel.

The casino facility includes new slot floors, table games and poker area, guest service area, box office and guest shop. There will also be a new cafe, called the Autumn Leaf Cafe, for guests to relax in, Reiter said.

“A day like today is a very joyous occasion for our company, our people, our players and our vendors,” Reiter said, adding that the occasion is bittersweet for him, as he plans to retire June 30.

Reiter credited the Menominee Tribal Legislature and the Menominee Indian Gaming Authority with having a vision for the tribe’s financial future.

“Our Legislature recognized that we needed to do something to improve on our situation. We’ve been adding on and adding on all these years, but it was time we needed to move forward,” Reiter said.

Gary Besaw, Menominee tribal chairman, noted that the $8.3 million project was finished on time and under budget. Miron Construction constructed the new casino area, while LSE Architects from Minneapolis, Minnesota, designed the facility. Wisconsin Bank and Trust furnished the financing to build the casino.

However, he credited a good share of the project’s success to patrons and tribal members, who gave their ideas about how to design the facility.

“You gave great recommendations and insight that provided the decisions that resulted in what we see today,” Besaw said. “Along with the hotel and conference center, it has created what you — the customer and tribal member — have asked for, a connected and exciting one-stop shop.”

The Menominee and other tribes in the state depend on casinos and gaming facilities to provide the funding that covers reservation needs.

“This casino facility is counted on to provide most of our tribal budget,” Besaw said.

Crystal Chapman-Chevalier, chairwoman of the Menominee Indian Gaming Authority, noted that the rural Indian casino market has become very competitive, and it is important to keep the tribe’s gaming facilities up-to-date.

“The opportunity and stability of tribal gaming is worth fighting for,” Chapman-Chevalier said. “I truly that Indian gaming establishments stand as beacons of self-determination and resiliency and are a promise of sustainability and future prosperity to tribal nations across this country. A stronger casino makes for a stronger nation.”

Chapman-Chevalier noted that 70 percent of the tribe’s programming revenue comes from the Keshena gaming facility. The new facility also has a state-of-the-art air quality system and more appealing atmosphere, which she said will help improve employees’ work experience and customer visits.

“Happy employees make for happy customers,” Chapman-Chevalier said. “Our customers, whether they are long-time loyalists or first-time visitors, now have a more synergistic gaming experience that provides all the convenience of our amenities and entertainment under one roof.”

Even as the tribe celebrates the completion of one casino project, it is preparing for a fight on another.

Tribal officials and other Menominee citizens plan to march from Keshena to Madison, starting at 8 a.m. Friday, as a gesture to urge Gov. Scott Walker to reverse his January decision to reject a new tribal casino in Kenosha.