From the Morning Sun:
Saganing Eagle’s Landing Casino not looking likely to open by year’s end
By MARK RANZENBERGER
Sun Online Editor
It doesn’t seem likely that the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe will meet its self-imposed deadline of opening the Saganing Eagle’s Landing Casino by year’s end.
Work is continuing for the 32,000 square-foot, lodge-style casino to be located southeast of Standish in the tiny reservation community of Saganing. Training for staff members is said to be under way at the Tribe’s Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort outside Mt. Pleasant, but the Tribe has not announced an opening date for Saganing.
“Keep visiting this page for the latest information on our opening date!” is posted on the casino’s Web site, http://www.saganing-eagleslanding.com.
The Tribe has built a 32,000-square-foot facility, equipped with more than 700 slot machines and 40 electronic table games. That makes it a medium-sized Native-run casino.
Tribal spokesman Joe Sowmick said it’s possible that the casino may be shown off to Tribal members soon, but a public opening is some time away. The actual opening date will be set by the Tribal Council, and if the council has taken action, that action hasn’t been made public.
The new casino will feature food and beverages, but no plans have been announced for a hotel or resort. The Tribe has purchased a marina on nearby Saginaw Bay, and renovated a once-rickety gas station on M-13, converting it into a Sagamok Shell station and convenience store.
Unlike the Soaring Eagle on the Isabella Reservation, the Saganing Eagle’s Landing is located away from the main highway.
The Soaring Eagle is just off busy M-20, less than two miles from its interchange with U.S. 127. The Saganing facility is six miles from the nearest I-75 freeway interchange, and nearly three miles from M-13, the five-lane main road through the area.
The casino has been built on some of the 350 acres of land held in trust for the Tribe near Saginaw Bay. Saganing once was a thriving Native community, but before the announcement of the casino plans, it consisted only of a few houses, a church and a community center.
At the groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year, Mt. Pleasant architect James Dufty said the biggest challenge in building the casino was the site itself. It is in a very rural area, without natural gas service, municipal water or sewage disposal, and the area’s power lines didn’t have the capacity to deliver enough electricity to run a high-tech casino.
The new casino is expected to employ about 300 people, a major economic shot in the arm for one of Michigan’s most economically depressed areas. The October unemployment rate in Arenac County, where the Saganing Eagle’s Landing is located, was 9 percent, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
Once the casino opens, the Saganing operation will open northeastern Michigan to gaming. Michigan’s other casinos are located primarily in western or northern Michigan, or the metropolitan Detroit area.
Turtle Talk 