Photo: Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority

Due to increased usage and crowding, the game floor at Dakota Dunes Casino will be undergoing some expansions. Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority President and CEO Zane Hansen says these changes include new food and beverage vendors, a new smoking area, and transforming the old smoking area into a high limit table game area. “I think our high-limit table players will really appreciate a quieter, more exclusive zone, and as we take down the existing high-limit room, it will really open up that sense of arrival as you come into the property and give us more floor space to work with.” The new smoking room will feature enhanced H-VAC technology compared to what is currently utilized at the resort.

SIGA has a budget of just under $13 million to complete the enhancements, which are scheduled to be complete in late 2025. Also in the works at Dakota Dunes is construction on a new thermal spa, which is expected to be ready for use by 2026.

Whitecap Dakota Nation Chief Darcy Bear adds that it feels great to be able to contribute to the province’s economy as a First Nation, which is something he says the Indian Act wanted Indigenous people never to be able to do. He attributes the First Nation’s success to the framework agreement that was signed regarding land use management. “Having that ability to move at the speed of business and eliminate 25 per cent of the Indian Act, really opened our doors for business and opportunities. Whitecap is now a regional employer. We have 800 jobs in this community now.”

In late August, SIGA also announced an even larger scale expansion coming to Prince Albert’s Northern Lights Casino. The multi million dollar expansion will double the size of the building over the next two years.