Kewadin Casino Manistique Michigan Review for July 2024

There are five Kewadin Casinos in the Michigan Upper Peninsula and Kewadin Manistique is one of them.

The other locations are Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, Hessel and Christmas and all are owned and ran by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians

Kewadin Casino Manistique opened in 1994 and is situated on US-2 west of the Mackinac Bridge.

In terms of the five Kewadin casinos, Manistique sits right in the middle with regard to size and amenities. It doesn’t have a hotel or pool like the two bigger resorts (Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace), however it has a much bigger casino floor than that of the smaller casinos (Christmas and Hessel).

Having already visited all four other Kewadin casinos, I was keen to take a look at Kewadin Casino Manistique to see how it compared.  

The external appearance of Kewadin Casino Manistique is colourful but not particularly impressive.

With green and white walls and a grey roof, the single floor building is understated and looks a little boxy. It’s pleasant enough but has no real wow factor to it.

Driving up to it, I thought it looked more like a motel or small hotel than a casino.

All five of the Kewadin casinos look entirely different in terms of height, size, shape and layout. There is usually a wood, brick and rock theme to their builds but this didn’t immediately strike me at Manistique except for the rock pillars underneath the casino sign. 

With a casino floor of 25,000 square feet, the casino itself is a decent size. Almost identical to that of Kewadin St. Ignace, but the theming inside is very different.

The casino at Kewadin Manistique had more of a clean but plain interior. The walls were grey and burgundy and the carpet was colourful and patterned, but I couldn’t find any particular theme or features inside. 

What it did have though, was a nice atmosphere. The staff greeted me warmly on arrival and I was given a quick summary of the casino when I told them it was my first visit.

The slots were packed quite closely together in some areas, but generally it was a well laid out casino and had a relaxed but lively vibe.

There are around 275 slots at Kewadin Casino Manistique including some virtual table games, but there were no live table games on my visit.

The casino is not open 24 hours, so be aware of that, the normal opening hours are 9am to 1am every day.

All of the slots were positioned in one central location, and I did feel like I was playing elbow-to-elbow with some other players at one point. But the casino was fairly quiet, so I just moved to a different spot where I was more comfortable.

The casino had a nice lively atmosphere to it, light music played in the background and there was steady hum of slot machines and chatter. It was quite smoky though which wasn’t the best.

I found a good range of slot machines on the casino floor. I prefer the more modern video slots and there were plenty of them including Huff ‘N More Puff, Lighting Link, Dancing Drums and Dragon Link. 

There was also a good selection of retro three and five-reel machines and penny slots too if you prefer old-school gambling. 

Virtual table games including blackjack and roulette were available in the casino. However, if you prefer live table games then these are only available at Kewadin Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace and Christmas casinos.

If you’re a sports betting fan, you can place sports bets at the kiosks in Team Spirits Bar which is also a great spot to watch the game too.

Just a note - as of 2022, all Kewadin casinos allow guests 18 and over to gamble in their casinos.

There is no on-site hotel at Kewadin Casino Manistique, but there is a small RV park. Located on the west side of the casino parking lot, there are 12 berths offering electrical service between $20 and $25 per night. The sites are set on a grassy field with picnic benches available. 

Kewadin Casino Manistique have also teamed up with other local hotels to offer close-by accommodation. These include Colonial Motel, Econo Lodge, Gray Wolf Lodge, and Harbor Motel – all located in Manistique.

Staff

I’ve already mentioned above that the staff gave me a warm welcome when I arrived, and I have to say this continued throughout my visit.

In fact, every member of staff I spoke to in the casino was really helpful and friendly, including the bartenders and servers. 

I spoke to a couple of locals while playing at the slots and they confirmed that staff regularly go above and beyond to help customers. So it seems like exceptional customer service comes as standard at this casino.  

Food

When it comes to food at Kewadin Casino Manistique, it’s all about Mariner’s Cove Restaurant. This smoke-free restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has daily specials too.

Breakfast is served from 9am to 11.30am and includes items such as the Kewadin Breakfast, omelettes, French toast, and pancakes. 

After that, the main lunch and dinner menu includes pizza, burgers, salads, soups, sandwiches and appetizers such as wings and nachos. 

I had the chicken tenders with fries which came to $12.95, and it was delicious with the honey barbecue sauce.

Entertainment

Team Spirits Bar is where all the non-casino action is at. With TV screens showing a range of sports and regular live entertainment it is the central entertainment hub of the casino.

If you enjoy being part of the entertainment, then you can join the weekly karaoke night with Chip and Charlie from 7pm to 11pm on Friday nights. 

The bar itself is quite simple: wood floors, bar-seating, tables in the middle and high tables around the outside. But it had a fun buzz about it led by the bartenders who were real characters. 

The rest of the entertainment comes from casino promotions and events.

Slot tournaments run every Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm to 7pm with prize pools of up to $100 in cash and bonus points too.

There’s also specials days for players to win Kewadin credits - Tuesdays are Valor Days while Wednesdays are Senior Days. 

Every Friday night is Ladies Night. From 5 to 7.30pm where female guests can play for a chance to win Hot Seat Draws and Prize Draws too.

Kewadin Casino Manistique also offer regular prize promotions as part of the wider Kewadin group. At the time of writing, they have a Money Bees A Buzzin promotion on with Hot Seat Draws and prize draws offering up to $500 cash.

Outside of the casino, Manistique is a fabulous place to explore. The Manistique Boardwalk is just a five-minute drive from the casino and you can walk all the way out to the lighthouse.

The biggest local attraction though has to be Kitch-iti-kipi, which is Michigan’s largest spring. Two hundred feet across and forty feet deep, over 10,000 gallons a minute of crystal clear water gushes from the underlying limestone.

This, along with Palms Book State Park, is just a 22-minute drive from Kewadin Casino Manistique.

Kewadin Casino Manistique is all on one floor so is accessible to wheelchair and reduced mobility users. 

All Kewadin properties operate the same loyalty program - Northern Rewards.

To sign up, just go along to a rewards desk at any Kewadin casino and remember to take along government issued photographic ID.

It’s a good idea to sign up to the monthly mailer at the same time so you can get monthly offers and promotions sent to you directly. 

The Northern Rewards program enables you to build up points every time you gamble in a Kewadin resort which you can then redeem for various rewards.

There are two different types of points to collect - Club Points and Tier Points. 

Every $4 bet in slot play and every $8 bet in video poker will earn you one Club Point and one Tier Point. Additionally, every $10 bet on table games will earn you one Tier Point.

Club Points have a monetary value (100 Club Points is equal to $1) and can be redeemed when paying for products and services such as restaurant bills, hotel stays, show tickets, and gift shop purchases at all Kewadin resorts. Alternatively, you can use them for slot freeplay.

Tier Points enable you to climb the status tiers and increase your benefit eligibility as follows:

• Green Card (1–1,499 Tier points) – comp rooms, 5% dining and shopping discount, comp shuttle service from airport, valet service
• Silver Card (1,500–7,499 Tier points) – as above plus 10% discounts, birthday offers and 2x point multiplier days
• Gold Card (7,500–34,999 Tier points) – as above plus exclusive invitations, room upgrades, guaranteed show reservations, 15% discounts and 3x multiplier days
• Black Card (35,000+ Tier Points) – as above plus guaranteed hotel reservations, late check out, access to Executive Host, 20% discounts, 4x multiplier days

There is also an additional card which is the Valor Card and is available to all active, retired and honourably discharged military, police, fire, and EMS. This card is basically the equivalent to the Gold Card and gets you all of those benefits.

What’s great about the Northern Rewards program is that you can build up Club Points and redeem them for benefits regardless of tier level. 

As an extra incentive to join the program, all members get entry into all promotions and special events which offer great prizes such as cash, points, merchandise, and meal vouchers. 

Members can also enjoy ‘Player’s Day Mondays’ in the casino where you can receive up to $30 Kewadin credits when you gamble.

My general experience from visiting Kewadin Casino Manistique was mostly positive, but in a kind of mediocre kind of way.

The appearance was pleasant but not striking, the casino was medium sized, but not impressive and the amenities were satisfactory rather than great.

The one thing I would say that was top quality was the staff and customer service and the variety of slots in the casino.

I didn’t enjoy the closeness of the slots or the smokiness of the surroundings, but I did like the casino buzz and I was welcomed warmly too.

I would say Kewadin Casino Manistique hasn’t left a lasting impression on me, but it was a fun few hours. 

⭐ Standout moment

My stand-out moment was the welcome I received when walking into the casino. The staff were really warm and instantly made me feel comfortable. I felt like they really wanted to help me have a great time and offer as much assistance as possible. 

As the last of the five Kewadin Casino’s for me to review, I pretty much thought I knew what to expect from Kewadin Manistique.

I knew I’d get great customer service, and a clean casino with lots of variety. That’s been a characteristic of all the Kewadin casinos regardless of their many differences. But I also thought I’d get some special features or theming which unfortunately didn’t come. 

I originally said that Manistique fell right in the middle of the Kewadin properties in terms of size and amenities. However, I think in my list of preferences it is probably fourth.

Both Kewadin Sault Ste. Marie and Kewadin St. Ignace are simply bigger and better. And I would have to say Kewadin Christmas is probably my third favourite based purely on character and personality. You can also place live table games at all three. 

However, Kewadin Casino Manistique is a good option for a middle of the road casino. It lacks in accommodation, amenities and live table games, but it shines in customer service and slot variety. All in all, I would say if you’re visiting Michigan and passing by, then its worth a stop off and a few dollars in the slots.

🧭 How to Get There

If you’re travelling from the south, take I-75 N to exit 344 B, turn right onto US-2 and follow it for around one and half hours to Manistique. The casino will appear on the right.

From the North, take I-75 S to M-28 exit 386 towards Newberry/Munising. From there, take M-28 to M-117 towards Engadine, turn left and then its 16 miles to US-2. The casino will be on your right in approximately 1 hour.

Free parking is available on site for casino guests.

If you’re staying locally, a Kewadin shuttle service runs between the casinos, but this is subject to availability. To arrange transport, all you have to do is call the shuttle line and request a pickup.

If you’re flying, the closest major airport to Manistique is Sawyer International Airport (MQT / KSAW) which is around 60 miles away.