On Thursday, October 10, Wind Creek Bethlehem, which was formerly known as Sands Bethlehem officially celebrated its long-awaited launch. Owned by Wind Creek Hospitality and PCI Gaming Authority of Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the property was acquired from Las Vegas Sands, one of the world’s most successful gaming and hospitality operators.
The sale of the property was first announced in 2018 with the previous owner agreeing to a sale that would net it a whopping $1.3 billion. It now becomes the Poarch Band of Creek Indian’s tenth casino property.
All About the Ground Opening
As mentioned above, the launch of the property has been anticipated for quite some time and therefore its grand opening was every bit as grand as everyone hoped. One of the most memorable things about the festivities was the visit by tribal princesses. In addition to that, there were the tribal dancers who graced the location of the celebration.
Among the people who graced the grand opening of the casino property were a number of state officials, Bethlehem officials as well as the members of the host community. Poarch Band of Creek Indians Chairwoman Stephanie Bryan played a huge role in how everything turned out.
She not only made sure that the guests had a good time but also took the time to give a glimpse of what they have planned for the future. The ribbon-cutting ceremony aside, the guests were also treated to a decent number of fun gaming promotions. This was definitely a great way to kick things off.
“Our team has worked to preserve what makes the property a special part of the Bethlehem community while introducing the Wind Creek brand, our Wind Creek Rewards program and our focus towards guest service,” Jay Dorris, the Wind Creek President and chief executive, said.
As of the time of the launch, Wind Creek Bethlehem casino’s 183,000-square-foot space features a total of 200 table games as well as 3,000 slot machines and table electronic table games. The facility further has a huge event center, a shopping mall and, of course, food and beverage areas.
More to Come
During the launch, Jay Dorris and his team revealed that the launch was only the beginning of the plans of continuing to reinvest in Wind Creek Bethlehem. Already, the operator has spent a whopping $15 million in the rebranding of the property. They intend to continue investing in further expansion of the property over the next few years.
Some of the things that Wind Creek Hospitality has planned include a new carpet and the transformation of the No. 2 Machine Shop. The machine shop which is located near the main resort building will be turned into a 300,000-square-foot indoor adventure and water park. Next to the park will be a hotel with between 400 and 450 rooms.