Carberry cashing in on casino

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This article was published 10/07/2015 (4107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As luck would have it, the Sand Hills Casino’s first year of operations has been a boon for businesses in the surrounding area.

Located just outside Carberry on Highway 5, the casino has seen more than 30,000 people sign up for its membership rewards program and has paid out more than $3 million in jackpots since last June.

However, the casino guests aren’t the only ones winning big.

Bob Robinson and his wife Christine own the Robins Nest Motel and Cafe on the Trans-Canada Highway, 10 minutes down the road from Sand Hills. According to Robinson, the casino’s close proximity has brought a new crop of visitors to the motel.

“We just had people (from Saskatchewan) staying for three nights and they were going to the casino,” he said.

While the casino boasts a 100-seat lounge and a 100-seat restaurant, Robinson said the new eatery hasn’t affected his café.

“It’s helped our motel room sales and it hasn’t affected our restaurant one bit. It’s basically bringing more people into the community,” Robinson said, adding that during construction of the casino, many of the workers stayed at the Robins Nest, which helped sales immensely.

Since Sand Hills doesn’t have its own on-site accommodations, visitors wanting an extended vacation have been making use of nearby hotels and campgrounds.

Developers at Swan Lake First Nation saw an opportunity in the lack of room and board and opened five new cabins near the casino last winter.

“There’s nothing around other than renting cabins up there and we’ve done fairly well with them,” said Bob Green, Swan Lake’s special projects officer, who says the luxurious cabins have helped change the visitors’ perceptions of the First Nation.

“I’ve had some people come to me saying, ‘Well, I didn’t expect to see that type of facility on a reserve,’ and it’s likely second to none elsewhere.”

The success of the cabins inspired the First Nation to build more accommodations near the casino in the form of a 46-spot RV park, which opens on Monday.

The casino was built on 20 acres of land owned by Swan Lake, but because the gaming facility is owned by all 63 reserves in Manitoba, the nearby First Nation doesn’t see a huge chunk of change from its profits.

Green wasn’t sure what the casino has made in its first year, but he is expecting a report to come out soon.

“Well, it’s not going to be a big pot of money — it will likely be invested into other businesses so that there continues to be development to create jobs.”

The spinoff jobs that have been created by the casino is a big positive for Green.

“The RV park and the cabins have created some jobs, we have a manager there, we have cleaning staff at the cabins and we have people keeping the grounds landscaped,” he said.

Carberry Mayor Stuart Olmstead has seen residents in his town also benefit from the jobs offered by the casino, which include full- and part-time positions as managers, security officers, dealers, cooks and servers.

“We’ve certainly seen an increase in employment in the community,” said Olmstead. “A couple of the better cooks have gone down there and have been working down there since it started. That puts a little bit of strain on some of the local resources, but at the same time, it gives positions for new people to come into.”

Olmstead adds that the casino has become a popular dining and entertainment venue for Carberry residents, but because the building is 18-plus, it’s not a family friendly facility.

Frank McGwire, marketing director for Sand Hills, said the majority of the casino’s 135 employees come from the local communities, with some travelling up to an hour for a shift. The glitz of the casino is in stark contrast to the rest of the jobs offered in the immediate area.

“A lot of the attraction lies in the excitement of the hospitality industry and gaming industry,” he said. “When you come in and see the place and feel the vibe … it’s a nice change and it’s refreshing for people who haven’t experienced this industry.”

McGwire said Sand Hills is still the new kid on the block, but news is spreading quickly, with the casino signing up 1,000 new gold card members every month.

The casino is planning to add a hotel to the lot, but McGwire doesn’t have a timeline for that project just yet.

“It is in the cards, but those cards have yet to be played,” he said.

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