Crystal Shores Casino: Benzonia’s New Gaming Property a Hit Despite Some Unexpected Snow

Written By Corey Sharp on January 31, 2025
a ribbon cutting pictured next to a car covered in snow

Crystal Shores Casino, Michigan’s newest gaming property, officially opened for business last weekend. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) had planned to open the new casino—its third—on January 22. However, a snowstorm in Benzonia pushed the opening date back three days to January 25. That slight delay didn’t seem to affect the excitement in the area, and the tribe has declared the opening a huge success.

The snow was still falling on opening day in Benzonia. However, that didn’t stop the ribbon-cutting ceremony, said Johnny Barrientoz, CEO of Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos. He told PlayMichigan in an email on Thursday:

“The open was a huge success! We unveiled the new project to our tribal membership first for the first weekend.  We had a ribbon cutting ceremony, a prayer and native drum ceremony also. We opened a few days later for the public with the same line up and comments from our Tribal council and executive staff.
“We could not have asked for a better start for this third casino of ours. Our first day of opening we had a pretty bad snow storm, but that didn’t stop people from coming out to celebrate. It was awesome. Staff were all excited, guests were excited and we received nothing but positive comments from all on the look and feel of the casino. It’s been a great start that’s for sure.
“We are looking forward to seeing what this property will do for the community there in Benzie County and the tribe overall. This is the start of something great! “

Background information on Michigan’s newest casino

Crystal Shores Casino is the GTB’s third gambling property in Michigan. The tribe’s flagship facility remains the is Turtle Creek Casino & Lodge in Williamsburg, despite its first casino was Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge in Peshawbestown.

The newest establishment resides in 7282 Hoadley Road in Benzonia, which is expected to help develop the tribe even further. The casino is in a government building owned by the tribe.

The placement of Crystal Shores Casino is expected to be temporary, with bigger plans on the horizon. Barrientoz told the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business earlier this month:

“At some point down the road, once we get operations running and we can make plans to develop a new casino on that property somewhere, we will actually turn that original building back over to the government operations.”

The new casino operation hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. until midnight.

No new online casino for Michigan

Michigan online casinos finished second in market, behind Pennsylvania, in 2024. However, the opening of Crystal Shores Casino does not mean a new platform is coming to the Great Lakes State.

The GTB is already licensed and partnered with Caesars Palace Casino, which produced $148.1 million in 2024 revenue, the fifth-most in the state.

Perhaps if the tribe builds a new property on the land, it’ll open up a retail Caesars Sportsbook.

Photo by Marko Aliaksandr, Makarenko Igor/Shutterstock
Corey Sharp Avatar
Written by
Corey Sharp

Corey Sharp joined Catena Media in 2022 and is the go-to expert for Michigan gambling. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, he previously worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia as a sports journalist and content producer. In Corey’s role as Lead Writer for PlayMichigan, he works alongside a talented team of expert journalists and analysts to bring you the most comprehensive and accurate coverage of gambling news in Michigan. Corey’s contacts around the industry makes him a trusted source. Corey produces daily stories and features about the gambling space. Corey graduated from Holy Family University in Philadelphia with a bachelor’s degree in sports management.

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