(WSBT) The long anticipated first weekend has come and gone. So, how did the New Buffalo's Four Winds Casino stack up as the games began?

Seventy-two hours after the casino opened to the public for the first time, many were still watching to closely to see if the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians' gamble will pay off. The tribe says it has so far. More than 50,000 people have already walked through the casino's doors.

But what have those crowds meant for the rest of New Buffalo?

Thursday night, the scene at the casino was the one everyone expected. Front and center was glitz and glamour. Crowds shuffled in, waiting to roll the dice and press their luck. There were cars, cars and more cars!

Three days later, the dice were still rolling, but the red carpet was rolled up, the glitz was dimming, and the rush of cars was more like a trickle. Steady, but no longer overwhelming.

"So far it hasn't turned out to be as busy as we expected it to be," said Lt. James Hagenbarth of Berrien County Sheriff's Department. "It's just been consistent."

Even so, extra traffic has meant extra police. More than 20 officers are now assigned to patrol the roads around the casino full time. So far, they've heard few complaints from visitors or nearby neighbors, and they plan to keep it that way.

"We anticipate pretty much what you see out here now is what you're going to get on a constant basis," said Pokagon Tribal Police Capt. Mike Jungel.

Meanwhile, the streets of downtown New Buffalo were packed over the weekend, despite on and off rain. So what does that mean to local businesses? It depends on who you ask.

A mile down the road from the casino, the crowds have grown steadily over the last few days at Hannah's Restaurant and Catering.

"It's definitely picked up a lot," said day manager Angela Griffin. "It's so packed in the casino they can't really get in to their restaurants ... we get all the overflow."

But just around the corner at Sweetwater Boating Supplies, summer clothes are selling, but aren't exactly flying off the shelves.

"It really hasn't had an effect on us at all," said sales associate Michelle Peterson. "It's just been the regular people."

Still, there is one thing everyone seems to agree on: the old New Buffalo is beginning to fade away, and, even with opening weekend now a part of the history books, there is no crystal ball that can say with any certainty whether the new New Buffalo will hold the same prosperity for those that have already written so many pages.

For that, Peterson says all she can do is stay optimistic.

"I hope so!" she said with a sigh. "I don't know. We'll have to see!"

Berrien County leaders are also studying traffic patterns, and say they may add additional traffic lights near the casino if traffic volume continues to grow.