gaming – Page 112 – Turtle Talk

Off-Reservation Gaming Review Close to Completion

November 7, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From ICT:

NEW YORK – Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., says the Obama administration will make a critical decision on off-reservation gaming policy in the coming weeks.

Schumer told the Times Herald Online that he recently spoke with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who is reviewing a “guidance memorandum” issued by former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in January 2008. The controversial guidance placed a new hurdle on land into trust applications for gaming – a “commutability” standard under which the applied-for land is to be considered in light of its distance from a nation’s reservation, regardless of whether it is within a nation’s historical territories.

The memo caused an uproar across Indian country, not only because distance isn’t mentioned in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, but also because the guidance effectively amounted to a new regulation that had been promulgated without consultation with the nations, raising memories of the days of federal paternalism and policies to keep Indians on reservations.
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D.C. Circuit to Decide St. Croix Off-Rez Gaming Challenge without Oral Argument

November 6, 2009November 6, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has canceled oral arguments in an off-reservation casino case.

The court was due to hear St. Croix Chippewa v. Salazar on November 13. But the case will instead be decided on the briefs.

The St. Croix Chippewa Tribe and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indianswant to build a casino in Beloit. The project enjoys strong local support.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in the final days of the Bush administration, rejected the casino, saying it was too far from the tribes’ reservations. Beloit is more than 300 miles away.

At issue is a January 2008 guidance memorandum that make it nearly impossible for tribes to acquire land away from existing reservations. The Obama administration is reviewing the policy but continues to fight the lawsuit.

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Greektown Hearings to Begin

November 4, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Freep:

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Walter Shapero has scheduled four days of hearing time during which the plan’s proponents and objectors are to call more than 20 witnesses and present 539 exhibits to prove their cases, according to a procedural order filed with the court.

At dispute is how Greektown Casino, the smallest by revenue of Detroit’s three casinos, was valued. The higher the value, the more creditors have to share. As it stands now, the pre-petition lenders, led by Merrill Lynch Capital Corp., put the value at $540 million and would own the casino after it emerges from bankruptcy.

Negotiations were ongoing over the weekend to deal with a potential wrinkle after the attorney for one creditor said he might offer a competing plan for reorganization. This plan would ensure bondholders, owed about $185 million, would get something out of the process.

“All of the parties continue to negotiate,” said Chuck Moore, a turnaround expert for the casino’s estate. “At this point, there is no plan other than to move forward with the confirmation hearings.”

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N.M. Court of Appeals Holds Tribal Business Immune from Suit

November 3, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion in Guzman v. Laguna Development Corp., decided in June. An excerpt:

David and Maria Guzman (the Guzmans) appeal the dismissal of their wrongful death and loss of consortium claims for the death of their son, Anthony M. Guzman. The district court both dismissed (pursuant to Rule 1-012(C) NMRA) and granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendants Laguna Development Corporation, d/b/a Route 66 Casino, George Russell Kainoa Ayze, and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (Defendants). We reverse and remand holding that: (1) summary judgment was not proper because Defendants are estopped from taking a position before the district court inconsistent with their successful position before the Workers’ Compensation Administration, and (2) dismissal was not proper because the Guzmans’ complaint sufficiently pleads claims that fall within the Laguna Pueblo’s waiver of sovereign immunity for injuries to visitors at the casino, pursuant to its gaming compact with the State of New Mexico. NMSA 1978, § 11-13-1 (1997) (the Compact).

Has the St. Croix/Bad River Challenge to BIA’s Off-Rez Gaming Regs Been Mooted?

November 1, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The Ho-Chunk Nation today announced the purchase of land in Beloit, Wisconsin, where two other tribes have sought to build an off-reservation casino.

In a press release, Vice-President Daniel Brown said tribe said it hopes to pursue economic development opportunities in Beloit. “We are looking forward to the chance to talk with local leaders about potential opportunities to bring jobs, economic development, and further investments to the Beloit area,” he said.

The St. Croix Chippewa Tribe and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indianswant to build a casino on the site in Beloit. The Bush administration rejected the project in January of this year, and the issue will be heard by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appealsnext week, on November 3.

In the press release, Brown said the Ho-Chunk Nation “remains the only tribal nation with a real opportunity to site a casino” in Beloit. The tribe’s Class III compact allows another gaming site in the state, he said, and the tribe has “federally-recognized aboriginal ties” to Beloit and the region.

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Boyd v. Emerald Queen Casino — No Section 1983 Claim in Tribal Trespass Case

November 1, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion; actually, an order to show cause — Boyd v. Emerald Queen Casino.

An excerpt:

Mr. Boyd purports to sue the Emerald Queen Casino, a security guard at the Emerald Queen Casino, and tribal officers of the Puyallup Indian Tribe for false imprisonment after a charge of criminal trespass was brought against him in Tacoma Municipal Court. Dkt. 5, p. 3. Mr. Boyd alleges that a “Puyallup Tribal officer along with employees of the Emerald Queen had worked together … to charge [him] with a crime of criminal trespassing in the first degree in Tacoma Municipal Court (Case # B00229679) which was Dismissed with Prejudice.” Id. Mr. Boyd further alleges that this has “created false imprisonment,” that he has lost his reputation, “which has become cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment, and that he has been discriminated against. Id

California Court of Appeals Dismisses Challenge to Revenue Sharing Provisions of Cal. Compacts

October 28, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Hollywood Park Land Co. v. Golden State Transp. Financing Corp. An excerpt:

Amended Indian gaming compacts approved by the Governor authorize an increase in the number of permissible slot machines on Indian tribal land, in exchange for a substantial payment to the State of California (the State), and authorize the sale of bonds (compact bonds) to provide an income stream to the State in return for the State’s promise to limit who may engage in certain types of gaming within the Indian tribes’ core geographic market.

Defendants, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) and Golden State Transportation Financing Corporation (Golden State), then initiated the sale of such bonds. However, plaintiffs, Hollywood Park Land Company, LLC, Terrence Fancher, MEC Land Holdings (California), Inc., Santa Anita Companies, Inc., Los Alamitos Race Course, and Bay Meadows Main Track Investors, LLC filed a reverse validation action, raising three constitutional challenges to the compact bonds.

Hannahville Proposes Casino in Romulus

October 27, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the Freep:

A group of American Indians from the Upper Peninsula again is proposing to build a casino development in Romulus that will include a 200-room hotel and retail space.

The Hannahville Indian Community has resubmitted its application to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Ken Meshigaud, chairman of the Hannahville community, said Monday at the Romulus City Council meeting.

Meshigaud told the council that he’s “more confident than ever” that the $300 million project will go through.

The previous administration in Washington, D.C., was against off-reservation gaming and last year dismissed 27 applications, including Hannahville’s, according to its attorney, Raj Wiener.

The 800-member community runs the Chip-In Island Resort and Casino in Menominee County in the Upper Peninsula.

Hannahville is asking the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to place a portion of a 27-acre site at Vining and Wick into trust — allowing tribal members to own the land and use it for gaming, as a sort of extension of their 5,500-acre reservation near Escanaba.

Past opponents of off-reservation gaming, who have included Gov. Jennifer Granholm, have expressed concern that such developments are far from the people who are supposed to be benefiting from them. Granholm’s spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, did not have an immediate comment Monday night.

According to Meshigaud, the proposed Romulus casino would draw as many as 6 million visitors annually, including many from nearby Detroit Metro Airport, and generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the Hannahville community.

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Foxwoods Debt News

October 27, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Hartford Courant:

The deeply indebted owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino said Monday that they have reached a deal with creditors that appears to offer some temporary relief.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council issued a statement saying that it “has entered into a forbearance agreement with its senior lenders” that extends through Jan. 20.

The Tribe did not say how much debt the forbearance applies to or offer any other terms, and said it would not comment further until discussions with creditors are finished.

The tribe, which does not publicly disclose its finances, has reportedly been trying to renegotiate more than $2.3 billion of debt, a situation that has led credit rating agencies to downgrade the tribe’s creditworthiness.

In its statement, the tribe said it “remains committed to working with its lenders to reach consensual resolutions.”

Last month the Pequots placed Michael Thomas, Chair of the Tribal Council, on administrative leave “pending the outcome of an internal review.” Citing a memo from the six other council members to Thomas, The New London Day has reported the council ousted Thomas because he issued a letter Aug. 19 to the tribal membership in which he described his own plan and stated his own opinions about the financial crisis.

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