Four Bears Casino Is Adding a Vibrant Bar on the Gaming Floor and a New Event Center
The Four Bears Casino in New Town, North Dakota is undergoing a $47 million renovation project at the moment. The casino was opened by the Three Affiliated Tribes over 20 years ago, but the venue had become out of date in the intervening two decades.
The refurbishment is going to expand the old event center from a 400-seat ballroom into a 4,000-seat concert arena. The hall will be large enough to host some sporting events, such as boxing and MMA.
“Smoking” Slots Row
The project also includes expanding the gaming floor into an 85,000 square foot hall. The gaming area will hae a 100-slot machine “smoking” slots row set off from the regular, non-smoking gaming area. One of the perennial issues in casinos is the need to balance between smokers and non-smokers, so the refurbishment project answers those questions.
Deluxe Redesign Plan
Patrick Packineau, the General Manager of 4 Bears Casino and Lodge, says the Three Affiliated Tribes had a choice between a small expansion or a deluxe redesign project. The tribes opted for the deluxe version.
Packineau said, “We decided that were going to come out with not just a small look, but really go all out. The whole event center was outdated. We wanted a new state of the art event center that was comfortable, safe and practical.”
New Gaming Floor Bar
The gaming area is also going to be home to a new gaming floor bar (pictured above) which they hope will “transform the ambiance within the gaming floor”. The designers say the “stratified design motif that alludes to the abundant oil deposits”. The Four Bears Casino is located in the center of the Bakken Oil Fields, a notable local landscape feature and economic factor, which produced 458,000 barrels of oil per day as late as 2010.
Brand New Event Center
The refurbished event center at the Four Bears Casino is set to open in August 2015. The brand new event center, which is said to house a geothermal mechanical system, is expected to open within the new year. The casino will be open all days, with no disruption of the gaming.
Patrick Packineau says that the redesign is going to offer versatility to what the casino can host, while providing gamblers with more amenities, a few more games, and a more comfortable playing environment.
More Diverse List of Events
Packineau said, “The new extension into our current floor design that we have in the casino will really increase the size and the diversity of the casino itself for us to hold more special events and cater to every event we hold.”
According to KFYR-TV in Bismark, the casino’s management hopes the renovations allow them “to host pow-wows, rodeos, trade shows, and theatrical productions.”
Indian Gaming in America
Like the private casino gambling businesses in the United States, the tribal gaming areas must continue to improve operations to maintain their position in the area. Profitable casinos must invest to maintain their revenue base, so most economic theories about the casino business are similar to the Red Queen theory of evolution: improve in order to maintain your position.
Market saturation in the midwest is not what it is on the eastern seaboard, but gamblers want to play in well-designed rooms with the latest gaming machines. The Four Bears Casinos has upped the ante in the Dakotas, so the Native American enterprise should be able to maintain its customer base for the foreseeable future.
North Dakota Gaming Industry
North Dakota has 33 land-based casinos spread throughout 14 communities in the state. The 4 Bears Casino & Resort is one of four casinos in New Town, alongside Players Pub, Scenic 23 Club, and Ray’s Legion Club.
The state also boasts 2 racetracks in two different cities. Besides the racing facilities, North Dakota has 27 off-track betting centers placed in 23 different towns and cities. Thus, 4 Bears Casino is competing against 34 businesses with casino gaming and 61 total gambling facilities in North Dakota alone.
