After dreams, concepts and plans for different sizes and locations over the years, S&K Gaming announces the grand opening ceremony of 400 Horses Casino on May 5 at 2 p.m.  

The 34,000-square-foot facility sits just off Irvine Flats Road in Polson, north of the airport. The casino, which has created more than 75 new positions, will feature a restaurant and over 300 gaming machines, with 100 more machines planned for the future.  

Bryon Miller, the CEO of S&K Gaming, said the company has been developing a new persona for years and is expanding its footprint. Miller noted they had been discussing how to improve the gaming setup because the Kwataqnuk Resort & Casino was initially built as a hotel, with gaming machines added later. That created a “weird” design at the resort, which the new casino will help remedy.  

Concepts for 400 Horses began in 2021, and Miller said the process of getting to where they are today was driven by leadership from the S&K board of directors, the tribal council and tribal leadership, who embraced what they were trying to accomplish.  

S&K is an entity under the CSKT and has a managing board of directors that reports to the tribal council. Under tribal and federal law, 60% of casino revenue is returned to tribes for certain social services, according to Miller.  

While the project has taken a few different directions regarding location, size and scope, it was brought to S&K Gaming’s attention during the resort renovation that CSKT owned a 79-acre tract off Irvine Flats Road.   

S&K decided to lease about 10 acres of that property from the Tribes and requested annexation into the city of Polson. The entire tract was approved for annexation by the Polson City Commission in August of 2023, and the casino was able to connect to city water and sewer.  

Zeke Keeler, director of marketing for S&K, explained that this was a win for the environment because it avoided drilling a water well or installing a drain field. They were able to connect to city water across the street at the airport, and that water main is accessible at the corner of Irvine Flats Road and Highway 93 for future development in the area. The expanded water line was funded by S&K as part of their development expansion.  

In late 2024, S&K approved the final casino plans, and they broke ground on April 9, 2025. While future expansion is on their radar, there is no timeline for the next phase, Keeler stated in an email.  

Casino also includes restaurant 

The new casino is similar to Gray Wolf Peak Casino in Evaro, but for this build, Miller noted that they learned from that facility how to use the space more efficiently. The same companies, LSE Architects and Kraus-Anderson Construction, were used for both Grey Wolf and 400 Horses.  

In January of 2025, S&K accepted community engagement and name ideas. The winner, Robert Hunt, recommended the name 400 Horses in honor of Chief Alexander, who was directly responsible for the formation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Chief Alexander was also known as “No Horses” and was said to be very wealthy at the end of his life, owning around 400 horses.    

Office space in the new facility will allow the S&K administrative team to consolidate into a single building rather than three, Miller said.  

Game types are class two slots and class two electric game tables. No live tables are permitted, but poker or Bingo are possibilities, just not in the immediate plans. Half of the machines will be brought over from the Kwataqnuk Resort and placed in the new casino, leaving only 20 machines at the resort.  

The restaurant, which will be named 371 Bar and Grill after the maximum depth of Flathead Lake, faces the lake and will seat around 70 guests both inside and outside on patio seating. The restaurant will be separated from the casino with its own entrance inside. 371 Bar and Grill will have chef Pedro Vera, who was previously the executive chef at Finley Point Grill.  

Miller calls it a casual restaurant with a good selection of food, including wagyu burgers and crème brulee. He also noted that the restaurant will have later hours, along with the casino. There will also be a large bar between the casino and the restaurant to serve guests on both sides.  

Miller said the casino’s planned hours are 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. on Friday and will remain open 24 hours until the following Monday morning. As business kicks off, they will accommodate that with more hours, Miller said.  

Traffic mitigation efforts 

Miller explained they have been working on traffic mitigation improvements with the Montana Department of Transportation since 2024. Miller calls it a collaborative effort involving multiple government stakeholders.  

He noted they conducted a feasibility study many years ago on anticipated traffic flows and needed improvements to mitigate interactions at Irvine Flats Road. Miller said MDT is planning a realignment of Shoreline Drive across the street from the casino and S&K. 

Turn lanes will be added, which are improvements required by MDT that S&K engineers are currently working on, Miller said. This improvement won’t be completed before the casino opening, but Miller hopes the design will be quickly approved by MDT.  

Keeler stated in an email that renovations at Kwataqnuk resort will begin after the casino opens, and they are excited about the transformation. According to the previous Lake County Leader reporting the goal is to make the resort more “family friendly.”  

   Bryon Miller, the CEO of S&K Gaming, and director of marketing Zeke Keeler discuss the display cases that will hold tribal artifacts and a Kootenai canoe currently being carved for placement in the front. (Emily Messer/Leader)