FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 28, 2015
Media Contacts: Phil Pantano Pantano & Associates Phone: 716-601-4128 E-mail: phil@pantanoPR.com
SENECA NATION, SENECA GAMING CORPORATION ANNOUNCE $40 MILLION EXPANSION AT SENECA BUFFALO CREEK CASINO Project will add gaming and restaurant space, bring 300 new jobs to downtown BUFFALO, N.Y. – Building on the enthusiastic response from guests and the surge of development taking place in the area, leaders from the Seneca Nation of Indians and Seneca Gaming Corporation today announced plans to construct a $40 million expansion at Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in downtown’s Inner Harbor area. The announcement followed formal approval of the project by the Seneca Nation Council earlier today. “Eight years ago, the Seneca Nation invested in our Buffalo Creek Territory when little else was taking place around us to draw people to the Inner Harbor area of downtown Buffalo,” said Seneca Nation President Maurice A. John, Sr, referring to the opening of the original Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in 2007. “An unprecedented wave of development momentum, investment and growth followed. Today, Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is at the epicenter for excitement in Buffalo.” Plans call for a two-story expansion of the existing casino, adding approximately 28,500 square feet of space on two levels. The ground floor will add 360 additional slot machines and ten additional table games, including a high limit room and non-smoking area, as well as a small performance stage for live entertainment at Stixx Sports Bar, retail space, and a new twist to the popular Buffalo Savors Grill.
The second floor of the expansion will introduce a Western Door Steakhouse concept restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, as well as banquet and meeting space. The Western Door Steakhouse is known as the signature restaurant at Seneca Gaming’s two resort properties in Niagara Falls and Salamanca. Western Door has won multiple awards over the years, including being voted as Western New York’s “Best Steakhouse” by Buffalo Spree magazine, the Certificate of Excellence Award from TripAdvisor, and multiple other local, regional and national designations. Construction is expected to start in mid-October and be completed in early 2017. The project will dramatically increase Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino’s workforce, bringing an estimated 300 new jobs to downtown Buffalo. “Economic revitalization occurs when your business leaders have an active and vested interest in the region,” said Barry E. Snyder, Sr., chairman of the Seneca Gaming Corporation board of directors. “With each new visitor we welcome to the area, every local resident we add to our workforce, and all the workers who help build this expansion, we are extending the impact of the more than $1 billion we have invested since 2002 to build our properties and become one of the largest employers in Western New York.” The expansion announcement comes nearly two years to the day after the Seneca Nation and Seneca Gaming Corporation opened the $130 million permanent casino property, on August 8, 2013. According to Seneca Gaming Corporation officials, the vision for the expansion project was driven in large part by guest response. “Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino has been extremely popular from the day we opened the doors,” Audrey Oswell, chief operating officer, Seneca Gaming Corporation, said. “The sustained and growing popularity of the casino, coupled with the remarkable transformation of the surrounding area, led us to look at how we could not only provide more options and opportunities for our guests to enjoy the casino, but to do so in a way that further elevates the guest experience and fits within the energy and context of the surrounding area.” The expansion will be physically built on the west side of the existing casino, stretching toward South Park Avenue. Once completed, Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino will offer guests a total of 1,200 slot machines and 32 table games. The project is being designed by the Hnedak
Bobo Group, which designed the permanent casino complex, and Seneca Construction Management Corporation will act as the construction manager. About Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is the latest attraction in the rapidly developing Cobblestone District along Buffalo, N.Y.’s Inner Harbor and is located just minutes from the Peace Bridge to Fort Erie, Canada, and a half-hour from Niagara Falls. The property is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Guests can enjoy more than 800 slot machines and 20 table games, BC Café, Stixx Sports Bar, and Buffalo Savors Grill, with foods directly from some of the region’s most popular restaurants. More information is available by calling 1-8778-SENECA (1-877-873-6322) or visiting www.SenecaCasinos.com. Connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, download our mobile app and view us on YouTube. ###