Michigan Casinos – Best Places to Gamble in MI

The nation’s tenth most populous state, Michigan also ranks number ten on the list of states with the most casinos. In fact, there are over 31,000 slot machines in the state!

All total, 26 casinos call Michigan home. Twenty-three of these are Indian casinos, while the other three are commercial casinos in Detroit.

Every casino has slot machines/video poker machines, and all the larger ones have the normal table games you’d find at most casinos, i.e. blackjack, craps, roulette, and various carnival games. Some now have sports books!

Casino gambling is a multi-billion dollar business in the state. While we don’t know the money made from tribal casinos (they aren’t subject’s to regulatory disclosure), we know that just the state’s three privately-owned casinos generate over a billion dollars of gambling revenue each year.

In addition to the state’s twenty-six casinos, there are two horse racing tracks (with simulcast betting), countless charity “Millionaire Party” gambling fundraisers found throughout the state, and lottery games – not to mention casinos across the border in Indiana, and in Windsor Canada.

In other words, Michigan residents and visitors have a plethora of gambling options.

Michigan’s twenty-six casinos are spread out across the Wolverine State, from a Four Winds casino in New Buffalo just across the Indiana border in the far southwest part of the state, all the way up to the Ojibwa Baraga Casino in the upper part of the Upper Peninsula. (The UP has twelve casinos).

Twelve different Native American tribes own and operate the state’s 23 Indian casinos. The other three casinos are in Detroit and are owned by corporations, including the MGM Grand.

(This map shows you the locations for each of the 26 casinos in the state. Clicking on the black star will reveal the casino’s name. The state’s six biggest casinos are in color.).

Indian casinos began operating in the state in 1994, while the three state-regulated casinos in Detroit began offering gambling in the summer of 1999 – a couple of years after Michigan voters approved a casino ballot measure.

List of Top Gambling Venues in Michigan

Related reading: Michigan online casinos

Biggest Casinos in Michigan

Here’s a look at the state’s six biggest casinos (in order). All have over 2,000 slot machines/video poker machines.

MGM Grand Detroit (purple star)

Opened in 2007, the state’s largest casino boasts 3,500 slot machines, and 143 table games, not including the large poker room. It also now has a sports book.

Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort (green star)

This massive casino/resort in Mount Pleasant in the heart of the state is the largest Native American casino in Michigan. It boasts 210,000 square feet of casino space, making it one of the largest casinos in the United States.

Soaring Eagle has 3,300 slot machines, and 70 table games, including blackjack, real dice craps, three-card poker and other carnival games with progressive jackpots. It is also home to plush 14 table renovated poker room, and the largest bingo hall in Michigan.

In addition to the 514 room hotel and spa, the Soaring Eagle has nine different restaurants and an entertainment venue. A satellite casino, the Soaring Eagle Slot Palace across the street, has an additional 700 slot machines. (We count this place as part of the main Soaring Eagle).

FireKeepers Casino Hotel (red star)

Just six miles east of Battle Creek, the Firekeepers has 2,900 slot machines/video poker machines, 70 table games, a 26 table poker room, bingo hall and new sports book. You can still play keno here too.

The resort has 243 rooms, seven restaurants and an events center that plays hosts to big name musical acts.

Greektown Casino (purple star)

Situated right in the heart of Detroit, Greektown has 2,800 slot machines/video poker machines, 61 table games, a 12 table poker room and sports book.

Motor City Casino (purple star)

Just a little northwest of downtown, Motor City has 2,700 slots/video poker machines, 59 table games, and a 12 table poker room.

Four Winds Casino Resort New Buffalo (brown star)

Michigan’s most southern casino is less than 2 miles north of the Indiana border and comes complete with a pretty hotel, with 415 rooms, six restaurants, a 17,000 square foot events center and plenty of bars, including a Hard Rock Café.

There are also 2,600 slot machines/video poker machines, keno, and 48 table games, including blackjack, craps and roulette.

Gun Lake Casino

Located roughly halfway between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, Gun Lake boasts 2,700 slot machines, 50 table games, a sportsbook, and poker room.

The Gun Lake Casino Buffet, called The Harvest Buffet, is very popular and fairly affordable. The casino is currently undergoing a $300 million dollar expansion that will add a 15 story hotel tower, along with a 32,000 square foot indoor pool complex.

(Related: Casinos in Chicago)

Michigan Casino List

Here’s a list of Michigan’s 26 casinos (in alphabetical order)

• Bay Mills Resort & Casino
• FireKeepers Casino
• Four Winds Dowagiac
• Four Winds Hartford
• Four Winds New Buffalo
• Greektown Casino Hotel
• Gun Lake Casino
• Island Resort & Casino
• Kewadin Casino Christmas
• Kewadin Casino Hotel – Sault Ste. Marie
• Kewadin Casino Hessel
• Kewadin Casino Manistique
• Kewadin Shores Casino & Hotel
• Kewadin Casino – St. Ignace
• Kings Club Casino
• Leelanau Sands Casino
• Little River Casino Resort & Hotel
• Motor City Casino Hotel
• MGM Grand Detroit
• Northern Waters Casino Resort
• Odawa Casino Petoskey
• Odawa Casino Mackinaw City
• Ojibwa Casino Baraga
• Ojibwa Casino Marquette
• Saganing Eagles Landing Casino
• Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
• Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel

Michigan Casino FAQ

Other

• Per the state’s tribal gaming compacts (or agreements), twelve different tribes are allowed to have casinos. According to figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s casinos produce the most combined revenue. (They own the Soaring Eagle casinos).
  
• The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi is the second most successful tribe (in terms of casino revenue), even though they only have one casino: FireKeppers. In third place is the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, who operate the three different Four Winds casinos.

• There are 31,300 slot machines in Michigan casinos. Nine thousand are in the three Detroit casinos combined, while there are 22,300 spread throughout the state’s 23 Indian casinos.

(By Steve Beauregard. Photos courtesy of the MGM Grand Detroit, G3Newswire, the Four Winds media blog, and Visit Michigan)