Give–aways, tournaments, and great deals will be found at the newly expanded Black Bear Casino and hotel all week as they celebrate the grand opening of the new facility.
LeAnn Wallace joins us from the new facility.

There are a lot of new things here...the casino is now 88–thousand square feet of entertainment with more than 2–thousand slot machines, 16 black jack tables, four poker tables... and a whole lot more.

This new facility isn't just good news for gambling fans... it also plays a huge role in the economic health of Carlton County.

Whether you go for the slots...the bingo... or the buffet... Black Bear's new facility aims to offer something for everybody.

The casino is offering many deals this week... from 45–dollar hotel rooms, to an 8–dollar–and–50–cent buffet. The casino hopes to attract thousands of visitors.

"When you stop and think when people are coming here they're going to be roaming around Duluth shopping, they're going to be doing some site–seeing, checking out the restaurants in the area, buying gas, economic impact over the next year, everybody's going to feel it I believe."

Beyond the gambling the new Bear casino, as they're calling it, also has an upscale steakhouse, two retail shops, an arcade and a championship golf course.

"It's laid out great, I think anyhow as a golfer each hole is kind of like an island by itself you're not criss–crossing into other peoples fairways when your playing, it's just all around beautiful golf course the greens are the best in the area bar none."

With the expansion the Bear will be able to host some top of the line Las Vegas style entertainers.

Mr. Wayne Newton himself will be live in concert on August 17th.
The celebration will continue throughout the month of August with something for everyone.
Back to you.

Thanks LeAnn. For more information on the week's events, visit our website at NorthlandsNewsCenter.com.