Dakota Sioux Casino, a 64,025 square feet, single-story casino in Watertown, S.D., recently opened in November 2006. The casino, benefiting the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe, features 375 gaming machines, an extensive kitchen and buffet, and a 200-seat lounge that offers live entertainment six days a week. The 92-room, 52,000 square feet hotel was completed prior to the casino project.
The design, which tastefully upholds a Native American theme, features laser cut artwork and 43-feet steel beams that protrude through the roof of the casino, which are structurally designed to resemble the traditional teepee; stretching across these beams is a 25-feet-wide dreamcatcher made of steel cable.
Matt Vineyard, project manager, J.E. Dunn, described the casino’s unique design, which employs imagery central to Indian Gaming: “There is a seven-sided structure that is primary to the gaming floor. On top of the structure, there are seven posts that create a teepee structure from which a dreamcatcher is supported.”
Vineyard noted the project required a collaborative involvement: “The structural engineer was instrumental in helping us get that design in where it needed to be—the steel contractor came in with some good ideas on how to fabricate and how to better build that structure. The casino was built with a collaborative effort between us, the architect, the steel fabricator, and the structural engineers, who are really good at taking a team approach to the project.”
Vineyard explained the process: “The design utilized a compression ring in the middle, from which seven beams were supported using a two-crane process. There isn’t an opposing structure that allows you to brace one beam from the other, so each had to be braced until the structure was complete. When we were done, we dropped the ring, and that created compression for the seven sides, and symmetry around it.”
The dreamcatcher, an original encapsulation of the tribe’s heritage, was created on the ground before it was installed. “Before we lifted it up, we attached all the lights, and tested it to assure that it was functioning, and then we hung it as one piece,” Vineyard said.
Yet, architects, designers, and contractors still had a few considerations—namely, the South Dakota winter. “It’s tough to know how the structure will react, so after we got the dreamcatcher installed, we put in some additional reinforcements to cut down on any wind vibration.”
The casino also features a unique under-floor ventilation system that continuously provides fresh air to eliminate indoor toxins, such as smoke. Vineyard clarified: “Basically, it is an open-air facility. All the air that is furnished to the space comes through the floor, and all the return goes through the ceiling, so all the smoke goes straight up. None of the air is recycled, it is a 100 percent outside air system—even the smoking facility has a clean system.”
The project suffered only a few minor setbacks, so J.E. Dunn was able to complete the project on schedule. “We did have a slight delay in terms of steel availability, which only pushed the project out a couple of weeks,” Vineyard said.
“All in all, it was a very successful project. In fact, it was a project where we were done early, where we were able to make minor changes before the grand opening, and we had plenty of time to coordinate with the casino operations staff to move in all the slot machines for the casino.”
Key Players
Owners/Operators: Dakota Nation Gaming Enterprise
Contractors: J.E. Dunn
Architects/Designers: English and Smart Architects
Structural and Civil Designers: Orson Engineering
Mechanical and Electrical Engineers: Dakota Engineering
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