Community helps celebrate opening day at Four Winds Casino South Bend

Thirteen months and 175,000 square feet later, it’s what you’ve been waiting for. The new Fours Winds Casino in South Bend has been the talk of the town since it first broke ground back in December 2016, and now those brand new parking lots are seeing heavy traffic for the first time.

A ribbon cutting ceremony led by casino reps gave the official go on casino operations. If you’re not into gaming but you need a reason to come see the new casino…

“I understand not everyone likes to game, but everybody loves good food,” said COO of Four Winds Casinos Frank Freedman.

They’ve got options for everyone you plan on bringing to the casino. After all, it’s you they want to see walking through these doors now.

“We are family friendly, although this is truly an adult environment, but some of our restaurants are set up to accommodate minors under the age of 21. The buffet is open to children, our Timbers is open to children, and currently our Kankakee Grill will be open to children,” said Freedman.

But if you’re a true gambler like the sickling siblings, you know why you’re here.

“I’m excited about it, we like to gamble and I’m hoping to walk out with a little bit of money!” said Renee Sickling who was visiting the casino on opening day with her brother and father.

But plan ahead, it’s a busy day at Four Winds Casino. And if you do happen to stuck in the line of cars, head of security at the casino, Matt Martin says that’s on their list of things to tackle too.

“We’ve actually been in collaboration with multiple different jurisdictions for the last couple months. We worked with Saint Joe County PD, South Bend PD and Tribal Police as well as INDOT to make sure that what doesn’t happen is we get to a point where there’s a standstill out there,” said Matt Martin, Head of Security at Four Winds Casino South Bend.

Even though most of security details are top secret for now, Martin reassures that Tuesday’s rush of excited casino-goers is expected to go smoothly.

“We’re making sure that there are some reliefs in place,” said Martin.

If you do plan on heading there, traffic patrols recommend parking in the parking garage where there are several levels available with parking and easy access to the casino, but the front parking lot is also available for public parking.

Organizers say live entertainment will be available on the weekend of January 19th.