Tribal Casino News - 2007
November 29, 2007
According to a report
in the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun, Teamsters Local 486 has announced
that an election of the housekeeping staff at the Soaring Eagle
Casino and Resort which is run by the Saginaw Indian Tribe, will be
held on December 20th to determine whether the employees want to be
represented by the Teamsters.
October 17, 2007
The Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians approved plans to develop a 100
to 130 slip marina in Grand Traverse Bay in Peshawbestown, Michigan.
At an August 2007 Tribal Board meeting, a Resolution was adopted be
a 5-1 vote to issue a bond for the Development of a Marina by the
Grand Traverse Band Municipal Marina.
September 20, 2007
The Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe has announced that its new Class III casino in Arenec
County, near the City of Standish, will be named Eagle’s Landing
Casino. In addition to the new casino, which is currently being
built, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has also purchased a
50-slip marina on Saginaw Bay, which it has named Eagle’s Bay
Marina. The marina, which is two miles from the casino, may also be
served by a shuttle service to and from the casino.
August 30, 2007
Earlier this week,
the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe held an informational job fair for new
employment positions that will be available once construction on the
Tribe’s new $44 million casino in Standish, Michigan is completed.
The job fair was
attended by nearly 800 people interested in working at the new
casino. The Tribe expects that the Standish casino will offer 300
new jobs to the area.
August 28, 2007
Judge R. Allen Edgar
of the United States District Court for the Western District of
Michigan issued an Order granting the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of
Chippewa Indians (“the Tribe”) a preliminary injunction allowing the
Tribe to immediately open its new casino in St. Ignace, Michigan.
Judge Edgar’s Order
accepts and adopts the 20-page Report and Recommendation issued by
Magistrate Judge Timothy Greeley on July 23, 2007, which concluded
that: (1) the public interest is favored by allowing the Tribe to
open its new casino; (2) third parties will not be harmed by
allowing the Tribe to open a new facility; (3) the Tribe will suffer
irreparable injury if it were barred from opening the new casino;
and importantly, (4) the Tribe has demonstrated a likelihood that it
will succeed on the merits of the underlying lawsuit.
August 9, 2007
The new Four
Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, Michigan, which is owned by the
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and managed by Lakes
Entertainment, Inc., opened to the public on August 2, and has
reported a successful grand opening week. According to a statement
by the casino, since opening last Thursday, the Four Winds Casino
Resort has averaged over 20,000 guests per day, and operated at
overflow capacity during its opening weekend.
August 8, 2007
The Michigan House of Representatives took up two
separate resolutions related to the approval of the Tribal State
Class III Gaming Compact signed on May 9, 2007 between the
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan
(the Gun Lake Band) and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. The
House, by a vote of 63 -41, passed House Resolution ("HR") 158,
which sets f0l1h the chamber's approval of the Compact. The House,
by a vote of 60-43, also approved House
Concurrent
Resolution ("HCR") 39, which ratifies the Compact and cal1s for
Senate concurrence. However, after passing this measure, the House
reconsidered the vote, which, from a procedural standpoint, will
keep HCR 39 in the House before transferring it to the Senate for
action.
August 7, 2007
The Pokagon Band
Gaming Commission published and posted proposed regulations for
public comment. Comments on the proposed regulations are due prior
to 5:00 p.m. on October 8, 2007. The Commission indicated that it
will consider and address al1 comments recommending changes to the
proposed regulations that are based on sound analysis or are
supported by reliable data and information.
August 2, 2007
The Saginaw
Chippewa Tribe announced its plans for expanding the Soaring Eagle
Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The preliminary plans
cal1 for the new complex to occupy more than 600 acres and, among
other developments, add three additional hotel/casinos, a theme
park, a water park, retail developments, an indoor ski and skating
venue, along with expansions of the current hotel and casino
property. In its announcement, the Tribe did not state when such an
expansion would begin, though it has said that negotiations are
under way to move expansion plans forward.
August 2, 2007
The
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians opened the Four Winds Casino
Resort in New Buffalo, Michigan, located just off Exit 1 ofI-94,
near the Michigan! Indiana border, just 75 miles east of Chicago. In
addition to its casino, the Four Winds Casino Resort also includes
the 165-room Four Winds Hotel, a retail store, six restaurants and
five bars. The Four Winds Casino Resort, which is being managed by
Lakes Entertainment, Inc., boasts 130,000 square feet of gaming
space, 3,000 slot machines and 110 tables games, including poker.
July 24,
2007
House Concurrent Resolution 39, which grants legislative approval
for the Class II Gaming Compact entered by Gov. Granholm and the Gun
Lake Tribe (aka Match-E-Be-Nash-SheWish Band of Pottawatomi
Indians), was passed by the House Regulatory Reform Committee. The
vote was 6-0, with two members abstaining. The compact is now
awaiting review by the full House, and then the Michigan Senate.
July 17,
2007
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe ("Tribe") held a
formal ground breaking ceremony for its Saganing Reservation, Class
III casino
gaming development project. The project will include a 32,000 square
foot facility with more than 700 slot machines and 40 electronic
table games.
July 2,
2007
The
U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band
of Potawatomi (Tribe), dismissing the last issue in a lawsuit filed
by Citizens Exposing Truth About Casinos (CETAC). The lawsuit
brought by CETAC claimed that the 79-acres of land on which the
tribe's FireKeepers Casino would be built did not qualify as an
initial reservation under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
June 20,
2007
The
Little Traverse Band of Ottawa Indians celebrated the opening of its
Odawa Casino Resort in Petoskey, Mich. The tribe's original casino,
Victories Casino & Hotel, officially closed on June I8.The $140
million facility features a 46,700-square foot gaming floor that
houses 1,500 ticket-in, ticket-out slots and video gaming machines
and 36 table games. In addition to gaming, the facility also
features an 8-story hotel complex and several restaurant and lounge
offerings.
June
1, 2007
The Little River Band of Ottawa
Indians presented a $991,000 check to Manistee County government
officials. The amount represents the 2 percent of slot machine
profits the tribe earned during the past six months from the Little
River Casino Resort. Based on the terms of 1998 compact between the
tribe and the Michigan government, the money will go to the Manistee
Local Revenue Sharing Board.
May 31, 2007
The
Michigan Supreme Court released an opinion in the case of Taxpayers
of Michigan Against Casinos (TOMAC) v. State of Michigan, reversing
a lower court ruling stating an amendatory provision contained in
the compact at issue violated the separation of powers clause of the
Michigan Constitution. The decision makes it clear that the Michigan
Legislature can constitutionally delegate authority to the governor
to negotiate and enter into amendments to the compacts between
tribal governments and the state of Michigan. Currently, four
tribes have compacts which permit the governor to negotiate
amendments. The four tribes are the Little Traverse Bay Band of
Odawa Indians (Victories Casino, Petoskey), the Pokagon Band of
Potawatomi Indians (soon to open Four Winds Casino, New Buffalo),
the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Little River Casino,
Muskegon), and the Nottawaseppi Huron Potawatomi (which is working
on a casino development in Battle Creek).
April 25, 2007
The Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe, which owns Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, announced
plans to open a second casino on its Saganing reservation, located
in Arenac County, about 30 miles north of Bay City. The plans call
for a 32,000-square-foot facility with approximately 700 slot
machines and 40 electronic table games. The casino is expected to be
open by the end of the year.
March 9, 2007
Governor Granholm and
D.K. Sprague, the Tribal Chairman of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish
Band of Pottawatomi Indian Tribe, known as the Gun Lake Tribe,
announced they had signed a historic Class III gaming compact to
authorize casino gaming at the Tribe’s proposed site in Wayland
Township, just south of Grand Rapids. Governor Granholm sent copies
of the signed compact to both House Speaker Andy Dillon, and Senate
Majority Leader Mike Bishop urging the legislature to concur with
the decision to enter into the compact by adopting a resolution.
The governor cited several reasons she believes demonstrate that the
compact is in the best interest of the public.
