Nearly Half Of Michigan’s Casinos Reopened On June 1

As Michigan temperatures go up this week and the state’s COVID-19 statistics continue to trend down, casinos are reopening throughout Michigan.

Three of Michigan’s 26 casinos were open for Memorial Day weekend. As of June 1, 10 were open and most of the rest had announced reopenings.

Michigan casinos closed by March 22 due to the pandemic, which has impacted Metro Detroit much harder than the rest of the state. The pandemic hit the Great Lakes State and the sports world right after Michigan sports betting launched on March 11.

The three Detroit commercial casinos have no reopening date set yet. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday that bars and restaurants across the state can open to 50% capacity on June 8.

As of Monday, a pair of Ojibwa Casinos in the state’s Upper Peninsula are the only others who have not announced a reopening date. Those casinos are in Marquette and Baraga.

According to the American Gaming Association’s COVID-19 Tracker, 316 casinos were open Monday afternoon across the country, while 673 remained closed.

Eight Lower Peninsula casinos opened, more on way

Here is a look at casinos in the Lower Peninsula with plans in place to reopen:

• FireKeepers Casino, Battle Creek: Reopened on June 1.
• Four Winds Casinos, three locations: A reopening date of June 15 is proposed for Dowagiac, Hartford and New Buffalo. The South Bend location in Indiana is also scheduled to reopen on June 15.
• Gun Lake Casino, Wayland: The casino will open at 8 a.m. June 8, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Table games will be open, the poker room will be closed, and the facility will be primarily smoke-free.
• Leelanau Sands Casino, Peshawbestown: Reopened on May 29.
• Little River Casino Resort, Manistee: Reopened the afternoon of May 29. Initially, guests must be 18 or older to help meet space limitations. Additionally, guests are required to wear a mask, undergo a non-touch temperature check to ensure they are under 100 degrees, and maintain six feet of social distancing. Table games will be open with limited seating.
• Odawa Casinos, two locations: The Odawa location in Mackinaw City opened on May 22. The Petoskey location, which is planning to open table games with limited seating, opened May 29.
• Saganing Eagles Landing Casino and Hotel, Standish: Reopened May 29 for “a limited number of invited guests only.” Then, on June 1, the casino will open for the general public.
• Soaring Eagle Casino Resort, Mount Pleasant: Reopened May 29 for “a limited number of invited guests only.” Then, on June 1, the casino opened for the general public.
• Turtle Creek Casino, Williamsburg: Reopened at 8 a.m. on May 29.

Lower Peninsula casinos with no reopening plans in place are as follows:

• Greektown Casino-Hotel, Detroit: No reopening date is set. Detroit’s commercial casinos are subject to Whitmer’s executive orders, the latest which is scheduled to expire June 12.
• MGM Grand Detroit, Detroit: No reopening date is set. Detroit’s commercial casinos are subject to Whitmer’s executive orders, the latest which is scheduled to expire June 12.
• MotorCity Casino, Detroit: No reopening date is set. Detroit’s commercial casinos are subject to Whitmer’s executive orders, the latest which is scheduled to expire June 12.

Five Kewadin Casinos change reopening date in U.P.

Here is a look at where the Upper Peninsula casinos stand on reopening:

• Bay Mills Casinos, Brimley: Announced a reopening for a 10 a.m. on June 12.
• Island Resort and Casino, Harris: Was the first Michigan casino to reopen on May 16 after originally announcing a May 6 reopening.
• Kewadin Casinos, five locations: After announcing May 28 they would reopen June 1, Kewadin changed course later and announced a June 12 reopening for open all locations (Christmas, Hessel, Manistique, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace).

• Northern Waters Casino Resort, Watersmeet: Reopened on May 22.
• Ojibwa Casinos, two locations: No reopening date is set for Baraga or Marquette locations.

Who will be the next Michigan casinos to open?

It stands to reason that the closed Upper Peninsula casinos could be the next ones to announce reopenings.

Tribal casinos have the autonomy to operate outside of Whitmer’s orders. Island Resort and Casino did by reopening May 16, nearly a week before the other U.P. casinos reopened.