Casino Enterprise Management

The rich history of St. Louis, Mo., is brought to new life with Pinnacle Entertainment’s newest casino, River City. Memorable elements of years past are put to use to create the feel of yesterday, today. The casino is on the site of the old National Lead Co. Joseph D. Rothman, executive vice president for Bergman, Walls & Associates—the casino’s lead architect—explained how the team got to work on this vision.

When the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma desired a revamp of their Durant casino, WorthGroup Architects responded with a spectacular design for expansion. From geometric designs to a white buffalo, the elements of the Choctaw Casino Resort are nothing short of stunning.

Unless you’ve been on sabbatical or hiding under one of your warehoused slot machines for the past five years, you know that CityCenter is the newest—and largest—property to hit the Las Vegas Strip. And at the center of this modern architectural feat is the beating heart of the urban complex: ARIA. The only one of the six towers to house a casino, ARIA is the vocal piece of the entire ensemble.

Pala Casino Spa & Resort, nestled in the rolling hills of the Pala Mountains in southern California, first opened its casino doors in 1999 and has since undergone two expansions. The first added a 507-room hotel, spa, pool and event lawn as well as new restaurants and expanded gaming facilities. The second, completed in late 2009, brought the property to a new level of comfort and elegance by adding even more exciting amenities.

The Holland Casino Rotterdam expansion, by New York City-based architectural firm ICRAVE, forged through a setback to emerge as a versatile and engaging entertainment option. With an emphasis on lighting and designation of spaces, the casino has a young, fresh atmosphere where there is something new to discover around every turn.

Among the beiges, browns and ochres, the sloping mountains, endless dirt and spindly brush of the Desert Southwest, the cool blues of running water are a rare and welcome sight. Likewise, among the sprawling suburbs and endless highways southeast of Phoenix, the glowing lights and long planes of the new Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino rise from the desert as a refreshing and inviting respite.

Now is the time to push the throttle forward and seize on a range of construction opportunities, especially “green” ones. Businesses and the government are offering a range of lucrative deals in the form of sales, rebates and tax incentives to get us to conserve energy and spend money. It is a prime time for retrofitting and refurbishing properties in the green market.

At a time when many casinos are seeing dropping revenues, Pennsylvania casinos are on a roll. The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh is the latest, as it welcomed gamblers on Aug. 9 for its grand opening. Situated on the edge of the Ohio River, the selection of its location is the main reason for its existence.

For the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi (NHBP) tribe, fire has long been a dominant factor. After all, the tribe’s name is traditionally the “keepers of the fire.” Now the FireKeepers Casino, located off of I-94 in Battle Creek, Mich., is forging a new tradition on what was historically used as farmland by the tribe. The FireKeepers Casino features Las Vegas-style gaming.

Indiana has enjoyed waves of success with its riverboat casinos, and now joining the cove is the state’s newest gaming venue, the Indiana Live! Casino. But this new property isn’t your average Indiana gambling hall. This land-bound casino—the second in the state—is built with good ol’ bricks and mortar. But, it is making waves of its own as the closest gambling hall near downtown Indianapolis.