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After more than a month with no bets in the state, one Michigan casino was planning to reopen Wednesday.
But after the Upper Peninsula’s Island Resort and Casino decided to change course and not open this week, what Michigan casino will be the first one to open?
Detroit’s three commercial casinos are closed through at least May 28 because of an executive order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to fight the spread of COVID-19. Greektown Casino-Hotel, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity Casino have been closed since March 16.
But since 23 of Michigan’s 26 casinos are operated by the state’s 12 federally recognized Native American tribes, that leaves the decision to open in their hands as they are autonomous.
Island Resort and Casino reschedules reopening
The Hannahville Indian Community announced Friday it would reopen the Island Resort and Casino this Wednesday.
The Harris casino, near Escanaba, had been closed since March 21 with an originally planned reopening on April 6. After a few extensions of that date, Wednesday will be exactly one month later than the original plan.
However, the casino reversed course on Tuesday night, saying instead they plan to reopen on May 16.
The casino was planning to have several precautions in place to keep customers safe, including temperature checks at the casino entrance, plexiglass barriers between some players, and only slot machines opening at first.
The rest of the facility, including the golf courses and hotel, would open later on a phased-in approach.
Reaction mixed about casino reopening plans
The original announcement, pinned to the top of the casino’s Facebook page, was doing huge engagement numbers compared to the norm.
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As of Tuesday morning, nearly 600 had shared the post and more than 600 people commented on it, with a huge range in sentiment from support to heavy criticism.
But the postponement of the opening was also met with big numbers, with 650 shares on Tuesday night about, three hours after it was posted.
Upper Peninsula, northern Michigan could open first
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The Upper Peninsula has not been hit nearly as hard by the pandemic than the Detroit area, which is about a 4-hour drive to the Mackinac Bridge, which separates the state’s peninsulas.
In all, Michigan had reported 4,135 deaths as of Monday evening, third-most of any state.
But Menominee County, which Island Resort and Casino is in, has only six COVID-19 cases reported and no deaths, according to the state’s website.
By and large, the U.P. could be a more likely place for more casino openings than the Lower Peninsula.
For instance, Gogebic County where Northern Waters Casino Resort is located in Watersmeet, has five reported COVID-19 cases and one death.
Current status of Upper Peninsula casinos
All 11 of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula casinos are run by Native American tribes.
Here is a list of the U.P. casinos in Michigan and their reopening status:
- Bay Mills Resort and Casinos (Bay Mills and Kings Club), Brimley: A message sent from the resort’s Facebook account said reopening will be sometime after May 15.
- Kewadin Casinos, five locations in Christmas, Hessel, Manistique, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace: Reopening is currently scheduled for May 16.
- Island Resort and Casino, Harris: Rescheduled Wednesday’s opening until May 16
- Northern Waters Casino Resort, Watersmeet: On March 31, the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians announced the facility would close through April. On April 25, a Facebook post said: “We will not be opening May 1st. We will post as soon as we have a new opening date. Thank you for your patience.” The facility’s golf course opened for the season on Friday but was closed on Monday because of bad weather.
- Ojibwa Casinos, Baraga and Marquette: No update was available. The website says: “Both Ojibwa Casinos will continue to remain closed thru the end of April and possibly beyond following Michigan state and Federal recommended guidelines for social distancing during the Coronavirus pandemic.” A message from the company’s Facebook account said: “We will post any updates when we have more to share.”
Lower Peninsula casinos remain closed
In addition to Detroit’s three casinos being closed, none of the 12 tribal casinos in the Lower Peninsula have provided reopening dates.
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The casinos are: FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek; Four Winds Casinos, three locations in Dowagiac, Hartford, New Buffalo; Gun Lake Casino in Wayland; Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown; Little River Casino and Resort in Manistee; Odawa Casinos, two locations in Mackinaw City and Petoskey; Saganing Eagles Landing Casino in Standish; Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant; and Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel in Williamsburg.
A notice on the Odawa website from general manager Ron Olson referred to Whitmer’s order for a shutdown through May 28 and said, “We will follow this order and remain closed until further notice.”
Bear Lake Highlands in Bear Lake, a golf course owned by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians which owns the Little River casino, opened on Friday.
Oscoda is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan located on the northern side of the Au Sable River where it enters Lake Huron. The community of Au Sable is on the other side of the river. Oscoda is in Oscoda Township in Iosco County, and not in Oscoda County, which is to the northwest. The 1990 census population was 1061, although 3,000 personnel were stationed at nearby Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Oscoda is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes. As of the 2000 census (several years after the closure of the air force base), the population was 992. The post office at Oscoda first opened with the name AuSable on September 23, 1856. The name changed to Oscoda on July 1, 1875.
Nearby is the Lumberman's Monument, in honor of the lumberjacks that first populated the area. The State of Michigan has designated Oscoda as the official home of Paul Bunyan due to the earliest documented publications in the Oscoda Press, August 10, 1906, by James MacGillivray (later revised and published in The Detroit News in 1910).
Wurtsmith Air Force Base (originally Camp Skeel) was located just outside the community from 1923 to 1993. Wurtsmith was the site of the Strategic Air Command's 379th Bombardment Wing consisting of one nuclear-armed B-52 bomber squadron and one air refueling squadron equipped with KC-135s. The Charter Township of Oscoda created a Redevelopment Authority with the cooperation of the Michigan Legislature. The Wurtsmith Renaissance Zone was created in 1997, which exempted businesses and residents of the 5,000 acre (20 km²) zone from all state and most local taxes.