Alabama Indian Casino - Wind Creek opens - MS doesn't notice

Brianzz

The games are Class II yet the new Wind Creek Casino north of Mobile near Atmore. Ala., is going for a first-class feel.

“It’s a mix between Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas and the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut,” said Brent Pinkston, vice president of marketing for the resort.

Operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the resort is just off U.S. 65, less than an hour’s drive from Mobile and Pensacola. The casino opened Jan. 6. The four restaurants are all operating and the doors to the 236-unit hotel will open Jan. 26.

Pinkston said the property was designed to be comparable to Biloxi casinos.

What is different from the Coast casinos is Wind Creek doesn’t have any table games since they are illegal in Alabama. Wind Creek does have 1,600 electronic bingo games that look like and play like traditional slots and come in popular forms such as Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right. These games have a bingo card in a corner of the screen and are hooked up to a server so players compete against each other as well as the machine.

Beverly Martin, Mississippi Casino Operators Association executive director, said she hasn’t heard any of the Coast casino operators talking about the new casino in Alabama and doesn’t believe they are too concerned about it being competition. “It’s really comparing apples to oranges,” she said, “because it’s not a full-service casino. I think the players will see that.”

Wind Creek’s opening drew 3,000 people, Pinkston said he thinks attendance is meeting expectations. Creek Entertainment Center, the tribe’s high-stakes bingo hall adjacent to the new resort, is being demolished. The tribe also runs two other Alabama casinos.