By Staff
The Poarch Creek Indians celebrated a huge milestone Tuesday as the tribe opened a new casino facility near Atmore.
The venture - which also features a hotel and conference center to open later this month - cost $240 million and becomes, as tribal chairman Buford Rolin said Monday, the tribe's “biggest endeavor.”
While the day is indeed a celebration for Poarch, it is also a big day for Atmore and all of Escambia County. The new gaming and hotel facility will employ 600 people - workers who come from around the region, including Brewton and East Brewton.
The facility will also draw many people to our area - people who will eventually shop and eat and stay in other communities near Poarch.
As Atmore Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Lee said Monday, Wind Creek Hotel and Casino makes Atmore “a destination site.”
That growth is good for the western end of our county, but it can also be good for Brewton as well. The employment opportunities and the sales tax opportunities for both communities are no small thing.
We congratulate the Poarch Creek Indians, our neighbors to the west, on their achievement. Wind Creek is a beautiful facility, and it is a testament to the vision and hard work that the group undertook in planning for their future.
We wish them much success in the future, and we know their success will help enable our success.