Greektown Casino in Detroit to be Rebranded
Penn National Gaming announced Monday that Detroit’s Greektown Casino Hotel will be renamed Hollywood Casino at Greektown on May 1. The rebranding accompanies a $30 million renovation of the hotel and other upgrades.
The new name will align Greektown with the 18 other casinos that Penn National owns that have “Hollywood” in their name, including Hollywood Casino Toledo.
“Becoming Hollywood Casino at Greektown will offer our guests the best of both worlds,” said John Drake, general manager of Hollywood Casino at Greektown. “We’re keeping all of the unique, neighborhood charm that has defined Greektown since we opened our doors, while adding several new amenities that come with being a part of Penn National’s flagship brand family.”
Greektown Casino opened in 2000. Penn National recently completed renovations to the Greektown property’s hotel lobby, including building a new cocktail bar and is in the process of redesigning all 400 of its rooms and suites. The work is expected to be complete in the coming months. The upgrades have so far cost about $30 million, the company said. The company also spent $1 million renovating its self-park and VIP parking garages.
Other new bars and restaurants, including Urban Cocktail, Rock Bar, an upscale Dunkin’ and a Detroit Taco Company, will be on-site, according to the company. Prism, the property’s steakhouse, will also launch a new menu.
The casino also will launch a new technical feature called mywallet within its rewards app, mychoice, that will allow players to connect to slot machines and table games from their phones, as well as add funds, collect winnings, earn points, and more.
Hollywood Casino at Greektown will host events May 19 and May 21 to celebrate its rebranding. Information on the events is available at greektowncasino.com/casino/promotions.
Ohio Sports Betting Rules Process Continues
The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) gave initial approval to send the fourth batch of rules to Ohio’s Common Sense Initiative Office at its meeting on April 20th. Each batch will take an estimated 149 to 179 days before it is effective according to the OCCC. This batch of rules deals with supplier and employee licensing, Type-A, -B, and -C proprietor-specific duties, and house rules.
Sports betting in Ohio must launch by Jan. 1, 2023, per the legislation passed last year. The process started in late December 2021 with the first round of rules released for public comment.
The fifth batch of rules was released March 7, which puts that on track for an August or September finish. That does not bode well for Ohioans who want to bet on the NFL and college football this year. The Fifth and last batch deals with supplemental Type-A and -B proprietor licensing, required procedures, and general proprietor duties.
Operators looking to launch sports betting in Ohio could see applications soon, according to the OCCC, however the applications for Ohio sportsbooks are not ready to be filled out. A commission spokesperson noted that operators can submit feedback on the draft applications before they are ready later this year.
Ohio sports betting should be quite lucrative once it rolls out. Some are predicting that the entire market could bring in $1 billion in total revenue while generating $90 million in tax dollars at a 10% rate. The Governor and legislators are eager to launch sports betting as soon as possible. All proposed rules can be found here.
The Pokagon Band and Its Four Winds Casinos Announce details for the 2022 Four Winds Invitational
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds® Casinos are pleased to announce that the 2022 Four Winds Invitational will be held at South Bend Country Club from Friday, August 12 through Sunday, August 14. The Four Winds Invitational is part of the Epson Tour, which enters its 42nd year of structured competition in 2022 and is the most established women’s qualifying tour in the world as the one “Road to the LPGA.” The Epson Tour (formerly the Symetra Tour) is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour. Follow the Epson Tour at epsontour.com.
The Four Winds® Invitational was established in 2012 as part of the Road to the LPGA® and is sponsored by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds® Casinos. The tournament features a field of professional women golfers from around the world. More information is available at: fourwindsinvitational.com.
“We are very pleased to once again partner with South Bend Country Club for the 11th edition of the Four Winds Invitational,” said Rebecca Richards, Tribal Chairwoman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. “2021 was the first year that the tournament was held at South Bend Country Club, and everyone was very impressed with the course and its facilities. Not only did Golf Digest rank South Bend Country Club as the fifth-best private course in Indiana, but it also hosts an annual U.S. Open qualifier. We believe our partnership with South Bend Country Club, along with new tour sponsor Epson, will help make the 2022 Four Winds Invitational our best tournament yet!”
“We’d like to thank South Bend Country Club for their efforts as we continue our partnership for the second year,” said Frank Freedman, Chief Operating Officer of Four Winds Casinos. “We’d also like to thank all of the tournament sponsors as well as the LPGA for their support of the Four Winds Invitational over the last 10 years. The previous tournaments have been a great success and attracted fans throughout the region. We have offered over $1.2 million in prize money to date and are very excited that this year’s Four Winds Invitational will offer a $200,000 purse.”
Duke Downey, CEO of South Bend Country Club, added, “We are very proud to once again be selected by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and its Four Winds Casinos to host the 2022 Four Winds Invitational. We are excited to welcome the future generation of rising LPGA stars and showcase what our award-winning golf course has to offer. I would also like to thank the members of South Bend Country Club for their support of the players during tournament week.”