CEO Jay Dorris says PCI Gaming’s new Wind Creek Casino & Resort has been an immediate hit and a boon to the local economy
Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Brandon BlochHe may have only a six-month sample to work with but Jay Dorris, the President and CEO of Poarch Creek Indian Gaming, knows a winner when he sees it.
Dorris says PCI Gaming’s Wind Creek Casino & Hotel, which opened in January of this year, has been an immediate success. As the crow flies, the complex is approximately 45 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, northeast of Mobile and due north of Pensacola, FL.
“It’s met and exceeded our expectations. We’ve been very fortunate. We had our course of normal, with some bugs and glitches to shake out, but overall we have been very pleased,” says Dorris, who is beginning his third year at the helm of PCI Gaming.
Located in Atmore, AL, Wind Creek is the jewel of the PCI family that includes two smaller venues near Montgomery, Riverside Casino and Tallapoosa Casino. The US $245 million Wind Creek venture features a 57,000sf gaming floor with more than 1,600 electronic bingo gaming machines, a 17-floor, 236-room hotel, four restaurants and the innovative Cooking Studio at Wind Creek under the direction of award-winning Chef Stafford DeCambra.
Wind Creek remains a work in progress. “It’s a very modern facility. There’s what you have now and what will be here in the next three to five months. We’re adding a lake, we’ll open a 2,000-seat amphitheater in July that will feature big-name entertainment and our culinary studio and spa will open in August or September,” Dorris says.
Restricted gaming
In accordance with Alabama state law, PCI Gaming is limited to electronic bingo gaming. The state does not allow the use of table games or true slot machines. Nevertheless, Dorris’s own observations tell him Wind Creek is quickly becoming a destination.
“One thing I like to do in the morning when I pull in is watch the vehicle tags. We’re located on the I-165 and they’re coming from Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. We’re here to provide an escape for people, a little bit of fantasy. We have games that people like to play,” he says.
The electronic bingo machines are unique from slots. “They are a server-based product and everyone is playing on a terminal against someone else. You’re not playing against the house,” Dorris explains.
As seems to be the case whenever a casino proposal is put forth, Wind Creek met with its share of resistance. Dorris previously served as President and CEO of the Pearl River Resort in Mississippi and says “My experience has been when gaming is done correctly it is a benefit. We have a $48 million payroll, we’re providing 1,600 jobs and we offer a full benefits package. Our guests enjoy themselves when here and our employees earn a living that lets them take care of their families. Nobody is forced to come in here and play or work.”
While the current governor is opposed to broadening the gaming options, Dorris senses a future administration may “take a look at it as a means of generating tax revenue. The Tribe is willing to sit down and discuss this and help in any way it can.”
The Cooking Studio – and more
“In this region of the country, food is very important and we’re invested in providing an extensive food and drink offering, the finest of anybody in this area,” says Dorris.
Corporate Executive Chef DeCambra – with whom Dorris worked previously at Pearl River – will oversee the facility’s four restaurants as well as provide professional instruction at The Cooking Studio at Wind Creek, a joint venture Sub-Zero/Wolf, the world’s top manufacturer of kitchen equipment. A native of Hawaii, DeCambra is a gold medal winner at the prestigious Culinary Olympics.
“We have high hopes for The Cooking Studio. We’ll be bringing in guest chefs and the hands-on kitchen will be very interactive for about a dozen or so people. The demonstration kitchen will seat 30 or 40. For a company as a team-building exercise it’s incredible. You learn something and you get to eat something that’s pretty good,” Dorris says.
The four restaurants have one-word names – Fire, Taste, Grill and Brew – representative of their style and offerings. Fire emphasizes foods that can be cooked with fire such as Gulf Coast seafood and Wagyu beef. Taste’s 58-item hot buffet reflects the excitement of the casino floor. Grill is a 24-hour venue featuring southern cooking and Brew provides specialty coffees and a wide variety of pastries.
In a release posted to the corporate website, DeCambra says “I take personal pride in each of these four restaurants and look forward to having customers come back again and again because they know we care about giving them a dining experience that is not just good, but great.”
A sovereign nation
The Poarch Creek Indians were granted sovereign nation status by the United States Government on August 11, 1984. As such, they are allowed to operate under their own system of government and bylaws.
Revenue generated by the three PCI Gaming venues funds the tribal government, operating as any municipality would. The tribal government undergoes an annual budget process, allocating money to departments and for services such as law enforcement, education and infrastructure upgrades.
“The tribe runs all the usual services that you would see in any town, county or state,” says Dorris. “Sovereign nation status is actually pretty fascinating. I’ve worked with tribes in one capacity or another for more than 20 years and tribal law and constitutional law are closely intertwined.”
Looking ahead
Dorris says the region has weathered the economic downturn relatively well and is anticipating development of one of the two facilities located near Montgomery into a venue similar to Wind Creek. The gaming floor at Riverside was doubled to 39,000sf last October while Tallapoosa encompasses a modest 21,000sf.
“I think we have a very definite opportunity in the Montgomery area, as the credit market returns and the economy rebounds, to take one or both of those facilities and offer new amenities and provide another Wind Creek type of experience,” he says.