Largest Casino and Racino Soon to Open in Montana
More than 500 slot machines, a mile-and-a-quarter horse track with 2,000 seats, non-house-banked Blackjack and Mini-Baccarat, Bingo-based Roulette and Craps, as well as a Poker room, a bar, and 24-hour restaurant; all will come soon as the Blackfeet Nation of Montana are finishing the final touches to open the largest casino in Montana and the largest Racino in the Northwestern United States. It's the new Glacier Peaks Casino in Browning Montana, located at the eastern entrance to Glacier National Park.
Casino Marketing Head Gary Green will serve as General Manager of the new property. The Blackfeet Tribe's Siyeh Development Corporation brought him in last April after he successfully created the High Winds Casino for the Ottawa Nation. In his aggressive marketing and branding program, not only the Montana communities are included as his target market, but also the 2 1/2-million tourists who visit the National Park annually and the one-million-plus population of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, which is day-trip bussing distance from the new casino.
More than 200 employees are set to report to work for training on August 7th as the Albuquerque-based Flinto Construction turns the keys to the building over to Green on the said date. Only 10 of its employees are non-members of the Blackfeet Nation thus making it one of the highest percentage Native-employee casinos in the country. Green also created a mentoring program, to eventually train tribal members to take over all of the positions. The new system, which will allow the casino to compete with Class III and corporate casinos, is designed to Green's own rigid marketing requirements and the GSA standards that he has endorsed since GSA's founding.
Many tourism boards are calling this new venture a "destination resort" even before opening. The New Casino will soon hold a gala Grand Opening event over Labor Day weekend and will have a "soft" opening in mid-August. Immediately, work will begin on a hotel and events center to accommodate the glacier park tourists and visitors, after its opening.
Because the Calgary population consisted more than 120,000 Asians, according to Green, they have created special triple-8 Asian-themed games for the said Market, also a para-mutual horse track for the Montana horse community and more games than anyone in this part of the country. He also said that, between those groups, the National Park visitors, and the Local area, the property is destined to change the face of Browning, The Blackfeet Nation and gaming in Montana. "This property is amazing; it has it all," Green stated.
