24 September 2026
As renovations near completion in April 2024, the resort is combining an upscale refresh with a growing digital presence to strengthen its hand amid stiffening competition from bigger players.
While the renovations are not yet finished, the resort has already completed key upgrades. The refurbished Heron restaurant is now open, providing guests with an upscale dining experience. The sportsbook area has also been completed, offering a modern venue for wagering on live events.
The main gaming floor renovation is about 75% complete, with refreshed décor, enhanced lighting, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a broader selection of slot machines. A new smoking gaming section is expected to be finished by early April 2024, providing a dedicated space for those who wish to smoke while playing.
Strategic expansion
The upgrades are part of a strategic push by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians to enhance the resort's competitive position. Online gaming has become a key area of focus. In June 2021, the tribe formed a partnership with Rush Street Interactive to launch a retail sportsbook at the resort. That deal also paved the way for co-branded online sports betting and online casino gaming, allowing the tribe to tap into Michigan's growing digital wagering market.
Figures published in a CDC Gaming report show that Little River's online gaming business was Michigan's fourth-largest player, with a 6.7% market share in September. That month alone, the casino saw $6.6 million in online gross gaming revenue and took in $3.44 million in total sports-betting handle.
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However, Little River faces significant competition. The online gaming market is dominated by larger players like MGM Resorts, which had an 18% market share at the end of last year, and DraftKings, which had 17.7%.
The resort's current location, at the corner of M-22 and US-31 in Manistee, simplifies the drive for out-of-town guests, but it also limits capture of the region's population. Little River is pushing for a development in a more suburban area. In 2016, the tribe sought federal approval for a $180 million casino in Fruitport Township, Muskegon County. According to a Muskegon Chronicle report, the project proposed a space that would be about 78,000 square feet, with a 1,400-seat bingo hall, up to 150 slot machines, two dozen table games, luxury hotel rooms and a concert hall for events.
The tribe also said at the time that construction could start "as early as 2018, big reopening possibilities for 2020." Over the next few years, the timeline slipped, and the deal remains in flux. A 2023 piece on Ottawalife.com described it as "still unresolved", all while pointing out that the tribe also has a separate casino project in the works that could send a ripple effect through the entire region.
Yet even as those larger developments remain uncertain, the casino's online results give the Little River tribe a path to making a regionally significant impact on the gaming sector. The notion of a detente between the casino's digital fortunes, for guests who might then take trips to the physical location, speaks to how the Little River tribe's expanding ambitions tally with the new tech-heavy face of gaming in the region.