Potawatomi Casino adding 1,800 slots, Starbucks and a rock restaurant
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Potawatomi Hotel & Casino is adding more than 1,800 slot machines, a Starbucks Coffee outlet — and a restaurant affiliated with two members of the rock band KISS.
Those features will be built on the third floor of the casino, 1721 W. Canal St., in a $100 million renovation project that's to be completed by spring 2023.
The additional slot machine stations will include a new bar with 28 bar-top “slot seats," a new feature for Potawatomi, according to a Monday announcement. The new project will give the casino around 3,000 slots.
Also, Potawatomi is adding a full-service Starbucks as well as a Rock & Brews, a rock music-themed restaurant chain co-founded by musicians Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, from KISS.
Rock & Brews will be located just off the parking ramp skywalk as guests enter the casino. It will include classic American food, a large variety of local and craft beers and a stage for live music.
A groundbreaking for the new restaurant will take place at 3 p.m. Wednesday, with Stanley and Simmons scheduled to appear.
The casino also will open three new “quick service” food and beverage stations, where guests can grab a bite or have food delivered to their gaming station, and a new gift shop.
Finally, Potawatomi is adding a new room for high-limit gamblers. It will feature a craft bar, gourmet kitchen featuring a brick oven and a stage for live performances.
The new features are renovating third-floor space that had housed a bingo hall, poker room, off-track betting facility, gift shop, a food court, Bella Italiana restaurant and some banquet space, said Ryan Amundson, the casino's corporate communications/issues manager.
The casino is looking for new locations for bingo and poker, Amundson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Not only will this elevate the brand, it will further our long-standing status as the premier entertainment destination in the region as the market becomes significantly more competitive," said property Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Dominic Ortiz, in a statement.
Greenfire Management Services of Milwaukee, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Potawatomi Business Development Corp., is teaming with Gilbane Building Services as the general contractors on the project. I-5 Design Build will serve as architect.
The announcement comes as the casino also plans to add a sports betting area under a February agreement between the tribe and Gov. Tony Evers.
Additional information about that project, including its location at the casino, has yet to be announced. It would cover a variety of sports, including a new off-track betting parlor for horse racing.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, and .
