BY STAN MADDUX, Post-Tribune correspondent
MICHIGAN CITY -- Imagine waking up on the 22nd floor and practically everywhere in the mostly glass hotel room has a view of Lake Michigan.
Blue Chip Casino plans to use that as a selling point to attract new customers and lure back those drawn to Four Winds Casino in nearby New Buffalo, Mich.
"Like any business, you got to offer your customers something different," said Gary Sawina, assistant general for Blue Chip overseeing the construction.
Casino representatives conducted a tour Wednesday to celebrate the top being put on the 22nd and final level of the hotel and convention center.
The outside is taking shape with the glass mirror-like exterior reflecting the blue in the sky more than halfway installed.
Completion of the 302-room hotel and convention center is on schedule for December.
The dunes and rolling terrain can be seen for miles, whether toward Lake Michigan or all the way to LaPorte.
The $130 million investment includes 25,000 square feet of convention space and roughly 1,200 seats for major entertainers with tickets ranging from $35 to $65, Saliwa said.
There's also a 10,000-square-foot spa featuring nine treatment rooms, full service salon for men and women, fitness center along with steam rooms and whirlpool tub with waterfall.
Blue Chip has a 184-room hotel, three restaurants and attractions on the premises.
Some local officials are worried because of a decline in Blue Chip's attendance, which has dropped by about 25 percent since last summer's opening of Four Winds Casino in Michigan.
That was expected and a rebound after completion of the expansion is fully anticipated, said Keith Smith, president and chief executive officer of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming, the owners of Blue Chip.