Casino Enterprise Management

Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects
Living Sky Casino
Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada

Project Description: The Living Sky Casino is southwest Saskatchewan’s newest entertainment attraction. The $35 million entertainment facility (Sky Centre) is a joint First Nations economic development project between the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC) and Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA). Located on the Trans-Canada highway, the casino offers excellent accessibility to the million-plus vehicles that pass through the area each year.

Design Themes: Circular gaming floor to reflect First Nations drum; stacked fieldstone; artwork depicting local wildlife; ornamentation inspired by the lodge pole pine; and sculptural representations of fire—the basis of home life—are a few of the concepts that make up the design theme.

Total Cost: $35 million

Opening Date: Dec. 28, 2008

Total Space: 50,000 square feet

Casino Offerings: 225 slot machines, six live table games, three blackjack tables with Triple 7’s bonus

Amenities: Horizon’s Restaurant & Deli; Sky Centre, which boasts theatre-style seating for 576; shuttle and valet service (exclusive to player’s club members); and free parking (567 stalls)

Owners: File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, Nekaneet First Nation (FHQTC), Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and the Government of Saskatchewan

Contractor: Graham Construction and Engineering, a Joint Venture

Architect and Designer: Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects

WorthGroup Architects
Choctaw Pines Casino
Grant Parish, Louisiana

Project Description: The Choctaw Pines Casino will be nestled in the pine forest of Grant Parish, La. The new gaming facility will be one level. Features of the project include the 56,100-square foot casino with 750 slots and up to six poker tables. Food and beverage components for the casino include a 175-seat buffet, 75-seat sports bar and grill, and a separate flexible entertainment area to accommodate a variety of functions from corporate meetings to celebratory gatherings. Support spaces include cages, players club, offices, kitchens, storage, surveillance, security, toilet rooms, IDF rooms, electrical rooms and mechanical rooms. Future design is planned for casino expansions including an entertainment facility and hotel. 

Exterior Highlights: The main entry façade features stone with wood accent elements and peeled pine timbers, which are also utilized on the interiors of the casino. The curved entry drive creates a resort atmosphere and will utilize earth berms, strategically placed native plant beds and lighting. The entry drive emerges from the forest and immediately focuses the visitor’s attention to the porte cochere and main entry façade.

Interior Highlights: The interior features organic ceiling elements, and the sports bar design is derived from an old sawmill while the buffet area showcases peeled pine timbers. Finally, there is a fireplace that anchors the high-limit gaming space, providing an inviting gathering place for patrons.

Design Themes: Nestled in a pine forest, design inspiration was derived from the forest fauna and organic characteristics of native vegetation and evolved into the unique use of wood and stone.

Total Cost: Anticipated total construction budget is $20 million for building and site work.

Current Construction Phase: Design development

Amenities: Buffet, sports bar, entertainment area, poker, high limits

Opening Date: July 2010

Total Space: 56,100 square feet

Casino Space: 21,000 square feet

Meeting Space: 3,000 square feet

Retail Space: 385 square feet

Other Features: At the beginning of concept, overlapping details from a tribal basket provided some design influence. Cultural, heritage and environmental elements important to The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians are melded into portions of the building design and featured in the facility.

Owner: Chief Christine Norris, The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians

Operator:  John O’Neil,  The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians

Architect: WorthGroup Architects

Contractor: Spring Creek Construction

Designer: WorthGroup Architects—Bryan Hamlin, Vice President Design and Beth Ketel, Interior Designer

Other Key Players: WorthGroup Architects—Pete Palumbo, Project Manager; Chad Stinnett, Job Captain; and Rebecca Todd, Interior Designer

Perini Building Company and Schuff Steel Company
Crystals at CityCenter
Las Vegas, Nevada

Project Description: Crystals is at the centerpiece of the retail and entertainment district CityCenter, a mixed-use development joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World. Studio Daniel Libeskind designed Crystals, which is an architectural statement for the Las Vegas community with its uniqueness rivaling any found in this country or abroad. The contribution to the construction industry is astonishing with Crystals engineering and structural accomplishments achieved utilizing human ingenuity with advanced technology.

Exterior Highlights: Crystals includes a below-grade garage, two levels of retail and a one-of-a-kind roof. The roof is what elevates the project into a class of its own. The roof is made up of 16,455 pieces of steel, including leaning columns, curving trusses and straight members that do not line up with any other piece of steel. The roof actually consists of 19 separate roofs that are intermingled and overlap one another.

Interior Highlights: Crystals will feature the Las Vegas Automated People Mover (APM), which created a dimension of difficulty in its construction. The APM runs directly through a sizable section of Crystals and the construction team worked closely with APM designer Doppelmayr Cable Car to coordinate the two projects. David Rockwell and Rockwell Group are designing the interior, which will feature fashionable clubs, gourmet restaurants, retailers, galleries, incidental offices and support areas all in an experiential environment that complements the overall city scene.

Design Themes: CityCenter’s Crystals is designed as an inviting neighborhood featuring high-end retail, dining and entertainment venues. Studio Daniel Libeskind, the design architect, created the structure to resemble a crystalline canopy.

Construction Challenges: According to Dave Farrell, project executive for Schuff Steel Company, “Planning and building Crystals was the most complex project Schuff has built in its 33-year history.” The challenge was to figure out how to build this extravagant facility on schedule and on budget. With more than 16,455 pieces of steel jutting out in every direction, Crystals looked more like an engineering mystery than an engineering feat during construction. Schuff likens Crystals to planning and building a complicated 3-D jigsaw puzzle—every piece had to fit perfectly. The design-assist project took 12 months of strategic planning in the preconstruction phase. The preconstruction team included Schuff Steel Company, steel fabricator and erector; Halcrow Yolles, the structural engineer; Steel Detailers, BDS; and Perini Building Company, the general contractor on CityCenter. To ensure constructability, all 16,455 pieces of steel had to be input into Tekla Structures software, a 3-D program used to plan for complex building and construction. Similar to the preconstruction phase, every piece of steel had to be installed one piece at a time. On average, about 40 pieces of steel were hung per day. Due to the intricacy of the angle or size, on some days only four pieces of steel were hung.

Current Construction Phase: The steel erection phase of Crystals is complete. The rest of the project will be complete in late 2009.

Opening Date: Late 2009

Retail Space: 500,000 square feet

General Contractor: Perini Building Company

Executive Architect: Gensler

Design Architect: Studio Daniel Libeskind

Architect of Record: Adamson-Associates
 
Structural Steel: Schuff Steel Company

Structural Engineers: Halcrow Yolles, BDS Steel Detailers and Silver Steel

Surveyor: Bryant Surveys Inc., Local 433 and Union Ironworkers