Blue Chip Casino opens 22-story hotel with fanfare

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Jan 23, 2009 at 10:53 AM EST

Story Updated: Jan 23, 2009 at 10:53 AM EST

MICHIGAN CITY (AP) — Fireworks marked the grand opening of Blue Chip Casino's new 22-story hotel tower, which it hopes will make it stand out among the area's gambling destinations.

The new hotel opened Thursday in Michigan City. It cost $130 million to build and its 302 rooms join the 184 rooms in the original eight-story Blue Chip Tower.

The hotel overlooking Lake Michigan has a 1,200-seat theater, a luxury spa and new bars and restaurants.

Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie says he expects the hotel to draw more people to the community, including its outlet mall and zoo and the neighboring Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Blue Chip's business has dropped about 40 percent since the 2007 opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort in nearby New Buffalo, Mich.

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