Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Steve Davids, left, promotions manager for the North Star Mohican Casino Resort, helps Phyllis Easker try her hand at a prize wheel Thursday during the casino’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The North Star Mohican Casino Resort is marking its 25-year anniversary by celebrating with the people who have made it all possible — its customers.
Management of the Shawano County casino treated patrons Thursday to an anniversary party as a show of gratitude for the support that has made the tribal-owned business a success since 1992.
“It’s the least we can do,” casino general manager Michael Bonakdar said.
The festive occasion with food, music and prize drawings took place at a time when the owners of North Star Mohican are engaged in an unrelated legal battle with a rival casino located about 20 miles away.
But that did not diminish the celebratory atmosphere at the anniversary event, which filled the Bowler casino and resort’s large ballroom with happy customers and grateful employees.
Langlade County resident Jerry Campbell said he and his wife have been North Star Mohican customers for many years. In addition to the gambling, they enjoy the live music and dancing.
Of all the casinos they visit in Wisconsin and elsewhere, Campbell said, the North Star Mohican is their favorite.
“It’s a good time, and it’s close to home,” he said. “It’s a good time all around.”
Owned by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, the casino began as a modest bingo hall in 1992 at W12180 County Road A. The casino opened a year later and today includes 1,200 gambling machines and tables, a hotel with 129 rooms, an entertainment hall and other amenities.
The 25th anniversary celebration comes as tribal leaders are fighting to block expansion of the Ho-Chunk Nation casino in nearby Wittenberg. Stockbridge-Munsee officials have filed suit seeking an injunction to stop the Ho-Chunk casino expansion, which officials view as a threat to their business in Bowler.
Stockbridge-Munsee tribal president Shannon Holsey said the court skirmish can be a distraction and can stir questions about the long-range future of the North Star Mohican casino.
“That’s always in the back of your mind,” she said.
However, the court battle was far from many people’s minds Thursday as a crowd gathered inside the ballroom to celebrate the casino resort’s past success — and to look to the future with hope for even bigger things.
Bonakdar said he envisions another 25 years of growth and expansion, adding: “We’re always surprising our customers with something better.”
Holsey said she was reflecting on what the past 25 years of success have meant to the estimated 1,450 members of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe. Revenue from the casino business has allowed the tribe to provide better health care, education and other services for its members, she said.
“It’s huge to us,” she said. “This is so much more than a casino.”