The Life of All-American Actor Kevin Costner

In 2017, the Midnight Star casino in Deadwood, South Dakota, closed after more than two decades. Costner had co-owned the property, which displayed some of his movie memorabilia and connected his public image to the real-world history and tourism of an Old West town.

The closure marked the end of one of his most visible business ties to South Dakota. For an actor so closely linked to Westerns, frontier stories, and American mythology, the casino had made sense as an extension of his brand, but a much bigger Western comeback was still ahead.