Four Winds Dowagiac, 58700 M-51 South, opens to the public at noon Tuesday with 300 slot machines, four table games and a Timbers restaurant that seats 30.

The Pokagon Band’s third casino contains 27,000 square feet, with about half of that devoted to gaming, including a non-smoking area with approximately 20 slot machines.

Four Winds Dowagiac, which creates more than 100 jobs, maintains the same look and feel in decor as New Buffalo and Hartford and was also built by Christman/Kraus-Anderson.

The 300 slot machines range from one cent to $10.

Four table games include Blackjack, Lucky Lucky Blackjack, 21+3 and Mississippi Stud.

Local leaders checking out the newest destination included Dowagiac Mayor Donald D. Lyons, City Council, Pokagon Township Supervisor Linda Preston, Cass County Board of Commissioners, including Chairman Skip Dyes from Calvin Township, and Dr. Fred L. Mathews, chairman of the Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees.

Pokagon Band Chairman Matt Wesaw, on behalf of 4,600 tribal citizens in a 10-county area of southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, said, “We’re so pleased at what we’ve been able to accomplish with relationships we’ve built. We’re doing everything we can to improve the quality of life of our citizens. Four Winds Dowagiac is a significant next step in the economic development of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Not only is this our third location for our Four Winds casinos, but Dowagiac is home to our tribal village (on Dailey Road) and our government facilities (on Sink Road), which provided needed services, including housing, health care, cultural preservation, language classes, elder services and child care. Like our other properties, Four Winds Dowagiac will also have a positive impact on area businesses. A lot of people ask, ‘Why Dowagiac? We didn’t move here. Dowagiac really is home. Over 60 percent of the jobs created here will be filled by Pokagon citizens.”

General Manager Matt Harkness said, “Four Winds Dowagiac will uphold the brand established in New Buffalo and Hartford. The marketing initiatives we have on the other two properties continue here. It’s seamless in terms of amenities customers have come to expect. We feel Four Winds Dowagiac is sized accordingly to meet the demand of the local market. Tthrough our player loyalty program, the W Club, players who visit Four Winds Dowagiac have the same opportunities to earn points, redeem offers and participate in promotions as they do at our other locations.”

W Club members can win a share of $125,000 in cash on Sunday, May 26, in a Memorial Day promotion.

“After noon, the casino will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are approximately 300 parking spaces,” Harkness said.

Dowagiac General Manager Frank Freedman said the bar carries six draft beers.

The Timbers breakfast burritos and country breakfast all day, “breakfast on a bun” sandwiches, starters and sides, such as chicken wings, fried pickles and mushrooms, beer-battered onion rings, cheesy fries, chili cheese fries, chicken tenders, fries and chips, a “daily double” of two from a bowl of soup, salad or sandwich, a daily special, soups, salads, desserts, sandwiches (warm turkey, reuben, hot corned beef, BLTs, Philly cheese steak and grilled cheese and desserts.