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Known for Casinos

Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood has always been a bit wild. It was settled illegally in the 1870s on Lakota land, and it’s where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried. But the once-Wild West city is downright civilized today. The entire town is a National Historic Landmark that was featured on episodes of ABC’s “The Bachelor” in February.
Voters approved gambling in Deadwood in 1989, and revenue from it has rebuilt the city and boosted the state’s coffers. In November, voters passed a constitutional amendment, which is making its way through the state Legislature, to allow Deadwood casinos to add craps, keno and roulette.
“Deadwood is important for the entire state of South Dakota,” said Amanda Kille, marketing and sponsorship director for the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.
The 98-room Deadwood Mountain Grand recently became a Holiday Inn Resort, and the hotel and casino’s event venue brings in acts such as Foreigner, Rick Springfield and the Charlie Daniels Band.
The Gold Dust Hotel and Casino reopened in October following a $1 million facelift, and the 42-room Hotel by Gold Dust opened in July. The project was “historic preservation at its finest,” Kille said, transforming a 1902 apartment building that was on the verge of condemnation into a boutique downtown hotel.
The Deadwood Deal group package gives visitors admission to three museums — the Adams Museum, the Historic Adams House and the Days of ’76 Museum — admission to the Broken Boot Gold Mine, on-off access to the trolley and discounts at participating restaurants.
www.deadwood.com

 

Windsor, Ontario

When Casino Windsor opened in 1994, it put the city on the gaming map. When the casino became Caesars Windsor in 2008 and opened The Colosseum the same year, it put the city on the entertainment map.
The 5,000-seat arena consistently brings in headlining acts such as Craig Ferguson, Amy Schumer, Penn and Teller, Trace Adkins, Lyle Lovett, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.
The resort has 758 guest rooms and more than 100,000 square feet of gaming space, and Caesars “continues to reinvent themselves,” said Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island.
Caesars opened a Johnny Rockets restaurant last year and redid the Artist Café, adding posters of artists who have performed at The Colosseum as well as television monitors that play clips of their concerts, Orr said.
The city’s gaming industry may soon see another reinvention. Efforts are underway to approve single-event sports betting, a move that would allow bets on a single game rather than requiring winning bets on at least two games simultaneously in order to win.
Windsor was a major rum-running hub during American Prohibition, and the city is home to Canadian Club whiskey. Although visitors can no longer tour the distillery for safety reasons, they can enjoy tours and tastings at the Canadian Club Heritage Center, the 1894 building that was Hiram Walker’s headquarters.
www.visitwindsoressex.com