Tribal Casino News - 2008
February 28, 2008
According to a
February 25, 2008 press release, Full House Resorts and Gaming
Entertainment Michigan, LLC have announced that they have hired R.
Bruce McKee to be the General Manager of FireKeepers Casino which is
being
built near Battle Creek, Michigan.
February 28, 2008
On March 4, 2008,
the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians will host a
Construction Job Fair for local area residents that are interested
in working on the construction of the FireKeepers Casino, which will
be built in Emmett Township near Battle Creek, Michigan.
The FireKeepers
Casino project is projected to create 700 construction jobs, 1,224
casino jobs and thousands of “spin off” jobs for the region.
When completed, the 230,000 square foot FireKeepers Casino will
offer 2,500 slot machines, 90 table games and 20 poker tables.
Construction is
expected to
begin in spring, 2008.
February 6, 2008
February 6, 2008, the
Congressional House Natural Resources Committee will consider House
Resolution 2176 and House Resolution (“HR”) 4115, dealing with the
approval of certain land claim settlements that could pave the way
for tribal casino projects in Port Huron and Wayne County, Michigan.
HR 2176, which was
introduced by Representative Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) in May, 2007,
seeks to approve a land claim settlement between the Bay Mills
Indian Community (the “Bay Mills Community”) and the Governor of
Michigan. Under the terms of the land claim settlement, the Bay
Mills Community will forego all claims to certain lands located in
Chippewa County known as Charlotte Beach (the “Charlotte Beach
Lands”), in exchange for having certain lands in Port Huron,
Michigan be taken into trust by the federal government and declared
part of the Bay Mills Community’s reservation so that gaming can be
conducted thereon pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”).
January 24, 2008
On December 31, 2007,
the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe opened its Saganing Eagles Landing
Casino in Standish, Michigan. On January 24 the Casino’s held it’s
official grand opening ceremony. The past month has proven to be a
success for the new casino. According to The Bay City Times, it is
rumored that the Casino is planning to expand the existing 500 car
parking area with the possibility of an offsite parking garage which
would provide a shuttle service to customers. According to casino
manager Stephanie Cooper, “(casino) traffic has absolutely exceeded
our hopes, we’ve already hit capacity several times.” In addition,
Tribal Chief Fred Cantu believes the newly acquired marina and
nearby properties will further, “improve in conjunction with the
casino, to create a synergy.”
January 17, 2008
In two separate letters
dated January 4, 2008, the United States Department of the Interior:
1) denied the application of the Hannahville Indian Community
(“Hannahville Community”) to have the federal government take 9.8
acres of land in Romulus, Michigan into trust for the benefit of the
Hannahville Community; and 2) removed from consideration the
application of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians (the “Lac Vieux Tribe”) to have the federal government take
10 acres of land in Iron Mountain, Michigan into trust for the
benefit of the Lac Vieux Tribe. Both the Hannahville Community and
the Lac Vieux Tribe sought to have these respective lands taken into
trust by the federal government so that tribal gaming facilities
could be built on these lands, in accordance with the provisions of
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”).
January 10, 2008
On December 21, 2007,
the housekeeping staff at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort voted
against membership in the Teamsters union in an election run by the
National Labor Relations Board. The unionization proposal was
soundly defeated by a vote of 192 (no) to 88 (yes).
In response to the
vote, business agent for Teamsters Local 486, Ed Morin, told the
Mount Pleasant Morning Sun that, though the current union proposal
was defeated, the Teamsters would monitor management’s response to
employees’ concerns and would consider another union organizing
effort in the future.
The union vote was in
response to a year-long effort to have casino workers organize and
join the Teamsters and is the first time Soaring Eagle Casino and
Resort workers have voted on union issues.
January 10, 2008
On December 31, 2007,
and less than one year after breaking ground, the Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe opened its Saganing Eagles Landing Casino in Standish,
Michigan. Though the casino’s opening was not highly publicized, the
facility was nevertheless crowded during its first two days of
operation, and even reached capacity, according to The Bay City
Times.
