Michigan casinos have something for everyone
By Sandie Parrott
The Oakland Press

Do you know what Let it Ride, Pai Gow Poker and Casino War are?  If so, odds are you are part of the 60.6 percent of Michigan adults, according to a Western Michigan study that have been in a casino at least once.

Whether you gamble or not, there are casinos that range from basic gaming rooms to luxurious resorts for the whole family.  The casinos are scattered throughout Michigan with the Upper Peninsula hosting eleven out of nineteen total locations in Michigan.

Gambling + golf  = paradise
Midwest Gaming Magazine voted Lac Vieux Desert Resort Casino, Watersmeet, Michigan, the Most Friendly Staff and Cleanest establishment.  No, there is no lake view or desert.  They do have a beautiful 9-hole golf course located in 100 acres of pristine Ottawa National Forest.  Afterwards for $59.90 to 139.90 you can relax in a king-size bed or a luxurious 2-room suite with Jacuzzi and fireplace. Or try snowmobile racing on their USSA Pro Star Racing Series track across the street.  They have Texas Hold-em Poker in the Bingo Hall and 693 slot machines including 17 penny slots.

Turtle Creek and Leelanau Sands Casinos, located in Acme and Peshawbestown are both owned by Traverse Bay Entertainment.  This company now owns the Grand Traverse Bay Resort and Spa.  The Resort adds towering hotel space and three golf courses; award winning and Jack Nicklaus designed The Bear, touted as "The toughest course in the Midwest, The Wolverine, a new course designed by Gary Player and the original course Spruce Run.  Leelanau Sands also has a 52-room lodge with water view from many rooms.  Disappointingly, they converted their quiet upstairs restaurant with a huge window overlooking the water to a rental space and built a new restaurant adjacent to the casino.  Both casinos have added a Chairman's Den, which is an area for "high rollers", with $5-$100 slots and $50 - $2,000 Black Jack tables. 

Golf Digest rated Wild Bluff Golf Course at Bay Mills Resort and Casino, Brimley, Michigan a 4 1/2 star, Best Course in Upper Michigan.  It is the only Casino that is on the water.  Waishkey Bay can be seen from the meandering golf course (with gigantic dice for tee markers) and many of the 144 rooms and Jacuzzi suites.  The course rates are reasonable at $25 (9 holes) and $40 (18 holes) in May and October, $30 and $55 respectively in season, including a cart.  The casino has low minimums on table games and offers Mini Baccarat.  There is a new RV Park and a shuttle bus to Kings Club Casino, the original location, opened in 1984, in a Community Center. 

Stuff Yourself
Well, if you can't stuff your pockets or you have played the Wheel of (mis) Fortune too many times, then why not stuff yourself? 

The Firefly Buffet at the Soaring Eagle Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan sounds like an innocent little eating place, but it is one of the biggest buffets you will ever try to eat.  Breakfast has everything you can dream of under a tropical tree filled space.  This resort offers wonderful rooms (AAA 4 Diamond award), quality Native American art, a glass-tile indoor pool and full-service spa, an outdoor pergola covered whirlpool and a roaring campfire in a huge pit every night.  They have 4,700 slot machines that they say; "No other casino between Michigan and Vegas has as many slot machines as we do."  The children can also play games at Kid's Quest and Cyber Quest.

Michael Russell, Certified Master Chef overseas 300 food-service personnel and 200 cooks and assistant chefs at Motor City Casino in Detroit.  The restaurants reflect the automotive theme, like the Motor City Pit Stop for barbecue from wood-burning pits.  The third floor offers a unique 7,140 square foot smoke-free gaming environment, including the Vapors Bar.  The fourth floor is for "High Rollers" (so tell me what it looks like).  The casino offers 2,500 slot machines and eighty table games including Dragon Bonus Mini Baccarat and Sweet Repeat Roulette.

See the Stars
Soaring Eagle Casino and Kewadin - Sault St Marie are where the biggest stars come to perform.  There are several other Kewadin casinos located in Manistique, St. Ignace and Hessel that provide basic gaming action.  Stop in and have an ice-cold beer at Frosty's Bar and Grille at Kewadin - Christmas, on Candy Cane Lane.

Bob Eubanks and the $250,000 Hollywood Game Show is coming to Chip-In's Island Resort and Casino to celebrate their 5^th anniversary on Tuesday February 17, 2004.  The hotel offers 113 rooms including luxury suites and an indoor pool with a heated sand beach.  

Tiana Burgeson, Marketing Manager for Little River Casino Resort said, "We aren't the biggest casino or have the flashiest stars, but we have special interactive shows".  They hosted Michael Israel's Art in Concert for New Years Eve.  He energetically paints using two hands to a song; like painting a picture of the Statue of Liberty, while the song "God Bless the USA" plays. He has performed for President Bush and the opening of the Olympics.   

Their 100-room lodge style hotel opened in August of 2002 with 12 luxury suites featuring living room, 2-sided rock fireplace, two bathrooms, Jacuzzi and a wet bar.  Their 44,000 square foot casino has a newly remodeled live poker room.

More Casinos
Victories Casino and Hotel claims it's Michigan's only sports theme casino with the Players Sports Lounge with big screen TV.  Their 850 slots cover the entire range of a penny to $100.  Their 128-room hotel has 10 two-room suites with bay views.

Ojibwa Casinos have locations in Baraga and Marquette.  They claim to be the first Native American casino in the U.S. started literally in a garage in 1982.  They offer basic gaming and a hotel with 38 rooms and 2 Jacuzzi suites. 

MGM Grand and Greektown are two other Detroit casinos.  Greektown Casino has list of "Bests" awarded by readers of Metro Times, Midwestern Gaming and Travel and the Detroit News, including Slots, Overall Casino, Place To Be Seen, Table Games and Restaurant.  It also has a People Mover stop inside the casino.  The MGM Grand has named slots like Betty Boop, Addam's Family and Yahtzee.  Play the Harley Davidson slots to try to win a motorcycle.

If you don't find anything you like in any of these locations, two more casinos are in the planning stages for southwestern Lower Michigan.  If you don't go to gamble, stop in for a nice meal, round of golf or a relaxing get away.

 Sandie Parrott lives and works in Clarkston with her husband and zany Cairn Terrier, Abbey.