Law of Attractions

Shooting Star Casino, Hotel & Event Center
Got sore muscles from raking in slot-machine payoffs and hauling in Brink’s truck–sized stacks of silver dollars to the payout window? (Hey, it’s called hyperbole—exaggeration for effect. Your actual gaming results might vary.) Relaxation and relief can be found at Serenity Spa, part of the Shooting Star complex in Mahnomen, which is four-and-a-half hours northwest of the Twin Cities.

Shooting Star converted space in one of its lounges into Serenity Spa, which opened in May. The spa offers a full-service day spa with full amenities, including licensed massage therapists, day-spa providers, and a full line of Serenity-brand lotions and spa products. “We wanted to be an industry leader,” says Romyn Hanks, advertising manager at Shooting Star, about the spa. “We’re one of the first in the state to offer this—certainly the first around the northwestern Minnesota region.”

Serenity is hoping to cater to the casino’s female clientele. “We could do a ‘girls night,’ where they could gamble and then come to the spa,” says Alan Thomas, hospitality administrative assistant at Shooting Star.

Or if gaming isn’t, um, in the cards, casino and hotel visitors can just visit Serenity for relaxation’s sake. “Instead of liveliness and entertainment, you might just want to kick back and take it easy for a night,” Thomas says. “It’ll be an all-around relaxing atmosphere.”

Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
The day after Taylor Hicks performed at Mystic Lake, Randy Carter had reason to be excited. Hicks, the American Idol champion from the fifth season, played to a sold-out crowd on March 25 at the Prior Lake casino. Carter, the casino’s vice president of marketing, was, of course, extremely pleased with the turnout—and perhaps just as enthused with what Mystic Lake will be able to offer its entertainers and concertgoers late this summer.

Mystic Lake Showroom, a classic performance venue is scheduled to open in late August or September. “I would think it’ll be one of the most plush theaters or showrooms in the Midwest,” Carter says.

More than plush, the 2,100-seat showroom is certain to be expansive, alluring, and highly functional. The stage will be ninety-five feet wide and fifty feet deep allowing Mystic Lake to attract cirque-type performing acts.

“It’ll have an absolute unique character,” he says. “The core is going to be very upscale, and the visual impact will be fabulous because there are no blind seats.”

Entertainment, says Carter, is a key marketing element for Mystic Lake. The casino will feature major headliners this summer including The Doobie Brothers. All of the acts, says Carter, bring both current clients and new clients to the property.

Treasure Island Resort & Casino
Treasure Island’s new look is hard to miss. One step inside the casino leads the eye to pillars draped with Italian separation curtains and stunning Maria Theresa chandeliers. Both of these are part of the Red Wing casino’s new greeting card—the Parlay Lounge—a feature that was added through an upscale renovation completed in June 2006.

Parlay features an illuminated bar with fine wine selections, ten 42-inch plasma LCD flat-screen TVs, and a 640-square-foot stage that hosts live music Friday through Sunday. Perhaps “upscale versatility” would be an appropriate description.

“Parlay serves as another entertainment venue,” says Bryan Prettyman, Treasure Island’s director of marketing. “Now, at Treasure Island you can see free live entertainment every weekend in two different venues.”