Downstream Casino Bets on 2008 Open

The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma is on schedule to complete the first phase of a $235 million casino and resort near the intersection of the Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma borders.

Downstream Casino Resort will feature a 70,000-SF casino floor, more than 2,000 slot machines, 30 table games and 15 poker tables. An adjoining hotel will have 219 guest rooms and seven luxury suites, and a restaurant will feature a buffet with seating for 200 and a 90-seat steakhouse, along with a sports bar and 24-hour food court.

Construction of the casino should be complete by summer 2008.

A pool, fitness center, salon and other amenities will be added in the next phase of the development.

The project manager is G. Michael Brown Associates, headed by Michael “Mickey” Brown, former president and CEO of Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut.

According to a Quapaw press release, the casino will employ more than 1,200 full-time employees, with two million visitors expected annually. Base annual payroll is expected to be about $35 million, with another $16 million in employee benefits and tips.

John Berrey, chairman for the tribe and the Downstream Development Authority, said the total economic impact of the casino is difficult to quantify. But he added that the casino would attract many other businesses to the area to serve the workforce, including a group of surgeons that is considering building a clinic near the casino.

“What that means to us is that people see this as a real economic engine,” Berrey said.

The casino will be marketed heavily to residents of Springfield, Branson and Joplin, as well as Southeast Kansas and Northwest Arkansas.