The Story
Costner came to the Black Hills in 1990 to film "Dances with Wolves," then transformed Deadwood's historic Phoenix Block at 677 Main into the Midnight Star casino and restaurant, opening in 1991 and decorating it with props from his films. As legal gambling spread nationally and amid management turmoil, he closed it in 2017 after a 26-year run. A South Dakota ownership group reopened it at the same address in 2020, no longer under Costner.
Surprising Facts
→ The building is the historic "Phoenix Block," predating Costner's 1991 casino by decades.
→ Costner ran it for exactly 26 years before closing it in 2017.
→ Its interior was famously decorated with actual props and memorabilia from Costner's films.