gaming – Page 113 – Turtle Talk

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

November 1, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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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Marcia Yablon-Zug on Tribal Gaming Revenue Sharing and Indian Child Support

October 26, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Marcia Yablon-Zug has posted “Dangerous Gamble: Child Support, Casino Dividends, and the Fate of the Indian Family” on SSRN. It is forthcoming in the William Mitchell Law Review.

The abstract:

Casino dividends have created significant wealth for many Indian tribes and have greatly improved the lives of their members. However, these benefits do not come without a price. Other scholars have noted the negative effects of gaming on tribal membership, culture, and identity but, there has been virtually no discussion regarding how casino gaming may hurt the Indian family. A recent case from the Florida Court of Appeals vividly illustrates how casino dividends can be used in ways that harm Indian families. In Cypress v. Jumper, the Florida court completely relieved an Indian father of any and all financial obligation to his children due to his children’s receipt of tribal casino dividends. In this article, I explore both the basis for, and ramifications of, this decision. I conclude that the court’s decision is not supported by previous case law permitting the consideration of children’s income but rather, is the result of the parties’ Indian ethnicity and the historic and continuing negative perceptions regarding Indian parents. I then explore the importance of child support and demonstrate that the benefits of paying child support are not simply monetary, but are also emotional and psychological. These additional benefits are especially important for Indian children who, given the centuries long assault on the Indian family, are more likely to experience family break down and the emotional and psychological effects of such breakdown than non-Indian children. Consequently, I argue that the Cypress decision creates a dangerous precedent that if followed, will allow Indian gaming to significantly harm Indian families.

Mohegan Tribe Per Caps under Scrutiny by Lenders

October 26, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Day:

Times were flush when the Mohegans sought the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs’ approval of the tribe’s plan for distributing gaming revenues.

After ensuring that the plan provided adequate funding for tribal government and economic development, among other things, the deputy commissioner of Indian Affairs signed off on the plan on July 16, 2001. It calls for 40 to 50 percent of the tribe’s net gaming revenues from Mohegan Sun to be distributed to the tribe’s adult members on a quarterly basis.

More recently, on Jan. 4, 2008, the office of the secretary of the Department of the Interior approved a Gaming Revenue Allocation Plan submitted by the Mashantucket Pequots. Under the plan, up to 30 percent of the net gaming revenues generated by Foxwoods Resort Casino (including MGM Grand at Foxwoods, which opened in May 2008) are to be distributed to tribal adults “to help advance their personal health, safety and welfare.”

The plans, which the BIA requires of tribes that choose to make so-called per capita payments to members, have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly in the case of the Mashantucket Pequots, who are seeking to restructure a debt load of more than $2 billion. Gaming industry analysts and the Mashantuckets’ creditors are more interested than ever in how the tribe distributes its gaming revenue.

The creditors were alarmed in late August when Mashantucket Chairman Michael Thomas, addressing tribal members about the “dire financial times” facing the tribe, vowed to protect funding for tribal government and per capita “incentive” payments from further cuts. The pledge, which many within and without Indian Country considered irresponsible, cost Thomas his chairmanship. Placed on administrative leave and facing a tribal council vote to expel him from the council, Thomas announced he would not seek re-election Nov. 1.
“He’s not that relevant at the moment,” Jane Pedreira, a gaming analyst with Rye, N.Y.-based Clear Sights Research, said last week.

With Thomas out of the picture, the investment world is keen to learn about the tribe’s funding of its tribal operations and the payouts its members receive. If they’re having trouble finding such information, “it’s not for our lack of looking,” one investor said.

Plans’ percentage breakdowns

Copies of the revenue-allocation plans, which The Day obtained from the BIA through a federal Freedom of Information Act request, detail the percentage breakdown of the tribes’ allocation of their net gaming revenues. The Mohegans’ 10-page plan specifies that 30 to 40 percent of the tribe’s revenue is to be dedicated to tribal-government operations and programs, including investments and education; 5 to 15 percent to the general welfare of tribal members, including investments, health, housing, social services and youth services programs; and 10 to 20 percent to economic development, both gaming and non-gaming related. Continue reading →

Detroit City Council Rejects Greektown Bankruptcy Deal

October 21, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From FREEP:

The Detroit City Council voted 6-2 Tuesday to reject a $15.3-million settlement for the city that would have transferred ownership of Greektown Casino to a new company after the casino emerges from bankruptcy.

The vote came after a group of local investors, including former Highland Park Emergency Financial Manager Arthur Blackwell, made its case to the council that the investors deserve some form of payment in the bankruptcy.

“I’ve never heard of a deal where the casino has never lost a dime” being in bankruptcy, said Blackwell, an investor who sold most of his stake in Greektown to casino mogul Don Barden, but retains $5 million in Greektown options. “By voting ‘No’ … we’ve got hope for something.”

But Mayor Dave Bing said he will ask the council to reconsider its vote.

In a statement, Bing decried the vote as “an attempt to force the Greektown bankruptcy court to make payments to a small group of casino investors” that violates U.S. bankruptcy rules.

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News Coverage of Pokagon Band Casino Revenues

October 21, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians continues to report strong slot machine revenues at its casino in Michigan. The Four Winds Casino took in $311 million on slots from August 2008 to August 2009, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board. That’s slightly more than the $309 million reported in the casino’s first year of operation, from August 2007-August 2008.

“It’s still a new property. People still are coming to test it out,” spokesperson Tom Shields told The South Bend Tribune. The tribe shares 6 percent of slot revenues with the state and 2 percent with local communities.

Get the Story:
Four Winds rakes in $1 million per day in 2nd year (The South Bend Tribune 10/21)