gaming

Michigan House Approves Gun Lake Compact

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From AP:

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state will get a slice of revenue from a planned Native American casino southwest of Grand Rapids, thanks to a deal approved by both chambers of the Legislature.

The House approved a resolution on the compact with the Gun Lake tribe by a voice vote Thursday. A similar resolution was approved by the Senate earlier this month.

The 2007 compact was negotiated between the tribe and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The federal government put 147 acres of land into trust for the casino in Allegan County’s Wayland Township this year.

Continue reading →

McCracken v. Easley — N.C. Court Says IGRA Doesn’t Allow State to Ban Video Poker

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion in McCracken v. Easley — mccracken-v-easley (via Pechanga and TV):

Strange case. Without any discussion except one sentence, the court struck down a state law ban on video poker, a ban that excluded tribal gaming in accordance with a Class III compact. The sentence is: “IGRA does not permit a state to ban the possession and operation of video gaming machines elsewhere in the state while allowing their possession and operation on tribal lands.”

I’d like to see the briefs, but all I can say is … baffling. Of course IGRA allows exactly this kind of law. IGRA allows tribes to negotiate and execute Class III compacts with states that have not banned gaming outright. And even if the state bans all gaming post-Class III compact, the compact will continue until it expires.

Commentary on Possible Burt Lake Band Casino Development

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Yesterday’s interesting statement by a lawyer for the Burt Lake Band suggesting that all the Band would need to commence gaming is simple legislation from the State Legislature deserves a spot of commentary. I guess their lawyer is reading this provision of the Michigan Constitution, added by state referendum in 2004, for support:

The legislature may authorize lotteries and permit the sale of lottery tickets in the manner provided by law. No law enacted after January 1, 2004, that authorizes any form of gambling shall be effective, nor after January 1, 2004, shall any new state lottery games utilizing table games or player operated mechanical or electronic devices be established, without the approval of a majority of electors voting in a statewide general election and a majority of electors voting in the township or city where gambling will take place. This section shall not apply to gambling in up to three casinos in the City of Detroit or to Indian tribal gaming. [Mich. Const. sec. 41, emphasis added]

Since Burt Lake Band is not a federally recognized tribe, they would not be subject the requirements of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, nor would the Department of Interior take land into trust for the Band under 25 U.S.C. 465. So the lawyer’s statement (“A bill will have to be introduced, passed by a simple majority in the House and Senate, has to be signed by Gov. Granholm, and we can rock and roll from there”) that the Band isn’t subject to all these difficult regulatory hurdles is correct, perhaps, but only if the Band would be considered eligible for “Indian tribal gaming” under Section 41.

Leaving aside for the moment the very real political problem the Band would face getting the Michigan Legislature to pass a special statute for them, I think there might be a significant legal problem facing the Band. Literally read, Section 41 applies to all Indian tribes. Burt Lake Band is an Indian tribe, as are the 12 federally recognized tribes. And so are the other non-federally recognized tribes as the Mackinaw Band, the Black River and Swan Creek Band, and Grand River Band. However, I strongly suspect the intent of the provision was to protect the federally recognized tribes of Michigan.

In short, I doubt the “Indian tribal gaming” language was intended to include tribes like the Burt Lake Band. It is my understanding (I was living in Grand Forks, N.D. when the voters adopted this referendum) that the key sponsors of the language were the federally recognized tribes. If there is any legislative history on this Section, I’d like to see it. Moreover, the State of Michigan has cut deals with all 12 federally recognized tribes to conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, so it makes additional sense to limit the “Indian tribal gaming” language.

I think there are also some sound public policy reasons for limiting the application of that language. The key one for me is that, if Burt Lake Band gets special legislation, Michigan will be innundated by Johnny-come-lately “Indian tribes” from all over looking for the same backdoor to a casino.

I’m a very strong supporter of Burt Lake’s petition for federal recognition, and any efforts to convince Congress to recognize the Band. But I surely hope their lawyer is doing more than just blowing smoke. There isn’t going to be much “rock and roll” from here.

Burt Lake Band May Pursue Casino under State Law Without Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From Indianz:

The Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians doesn’t need federal recognition to open a casino in Michigan, a lawyer for the tribe said.

The tribe can pursue state approval for a casino in Sturgis, said John Dresser, of Dresser, Dresser, Haas and Caywood. “A bill will have to be introduced, passed by a simple majority in the House and Senate, has to be signed by Gov. Granholm, and we can rock and roll from there,” Dresser told Business Review Western Michigan. The process would take much longer if the tribe was recognized, according to Dresser. He said new regulations would limit where the tribe could pursue a casino.

Get the Story:
Truck stop with casino seen as a quick economic fix for Sturgis (Business Review Western Michigan 2/17)

ICT on Gun Lake Band Fee to Trust Victory

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From ICT:

BRADLEY, Mich. – The Interior Department has formally taken 147 acres of land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe, ending a decade of opposition from an anti-Indian casino group.

Interior’s action took place Jan. 30; nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from Michigan Gaming Opposition (MichGO) challenging the interior’s authority to take land into trust.

A few days earlier, U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon tossed out a motion filed by former Wayland Township Trustee David Patchak, asking for a stay to stop the federal government from putting the tribe’s land into trust. Both actions were based on a highly controversial land into trust case – Carcieri vs. Narragansett – filed by the state of Rhode Island against the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Carcieri questions the interior secretary’s authority to take land into trust and whether land can be taken into trust for tribes that were not recognized in 1934, the year of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The two legal actions end any ambiguity about Gun Lake’s legal ability to move forward with its planned $200 million casino.

The tribe issued a press release with the exuberant headline “In land we trust.”
Continue reading →

Cert Petition in California v. Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Ah, Rule 19! Here is California’s cert petition — california-petition-for-cert

Just so everyone knows, I called this YEARS ago! See my “The Comparative Rights of Indispensable Sovereigns.” 🙂

And here are the lower court materials (Rincon Band; Cachil Dehe; and San Pascqual).  And here is our post on Pimentel.

Questions Presented (from the cert petition):

In 1999, the State of California and sixty-one federally recognized tribes entered into virtually identical tribal-state class III gaming compacts (Compacts) under the authority of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2721 (IGRA). The Compacts allow those tribes to operate slot machines if they have been issued licenses for those devices from a prioritized and limited license pool established by the Compacts, or if they have obtained a compact amendment allowing them to operate slot machines without reference to that license pool. The questions presented are:

1. In applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 (Rule 19), may a federal court, consistent with the rule of decision in Republic of the Philippines v. Pimentel, 128 S. Ct. 2180 (2008), utilize the authority it has under Rule 19(b) to safeguard (through the shaping of relief) the legally protected interest of an absent sovereign as a basis for finding that the absent sovereign is not a required party within the meaning of Rule 19(a)?

2. May the asserted ability of a court of appeals to resolve inconsistent district court decisions on the same claim for relief be relied upon to conclude that an absent person need not be joined under Rule 19(a)?

Michigan Senate Bills 67-68: Capturing Child Support from Gaming Winnings

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Under these bills, every time a $1000 winner at a Michigan casino tries to collect, the casino must determine whether or not the winner owes money in the child support system.

2009-SIB-0067

2009-SIB-0068

Michigan Senate Approves Gun Lake Gaming Compact – What Next?

bnewland2 Comments

Cross-posted with American Indian Policy Blog.

The Michigan State Senate voted to approve the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish (Gun Lake) Band of Potawatomi Indians and the State of Michigan. The Gun Lake Band reached agreement on this compact with Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2007, and the Michigan House of Representatives approved this agreement by resolution – consistent with its practice of approving gaming compacts by resolution – later that year.

Interestingly, the Senate acted today in a new legislative session, which began on January 14, 2009. The House of Representatives’ approval of this compact occurred in the previous legislative session. Will the Gun Lake Band return to the House of Representatives, which is under the same leadership as in 2007 when it originally approved the compact, for another approval in this legislative session? Or, will the Band make the argument that since both houses of the Legislature have given their approval, the compact is now in effect?

From Gongwer News Service:

Senate Approves Gun Lake Compact
On a voice vote the Senate has approved the state’s compact with the Gun Lake tribe of Pottawatomie Indians, effectively the last state hurdle towards the tribe building and opening a casino.

The Senate approved SR 11 without debate, though opponents outlined their objections afterwards. The chamber, which had held off acting on approving the compact reached with Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006, acted a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to block the casino.

Conner & Taggart on the Impact of Gaming on New Mexico Tribes

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Thaddieus W. Conner and William A. Taggart have published “The Impact of Gaming on the Indian Nations of New Mexico” in the Social Science Quarterly (conner-taggart-the-impact-of-gaming-on-nm-tribes). Here is the abstract:

Objective.

This study examines the economic and social impact of Indian gaming on the residents of the 22 pueblos and tribes in New Mexico.

Method.

We employ a naturally occurring quasi-experimental design that classifies each of the Indian Nations into one of two groups, gaming and nongaming, depending on the continuous operation of a “Las Vegas” style casino for multiple years in the 1990s. For these two groups we compare aggregate, primarily U.S. Census, data spanning 25 indicators in both 1990 and 2000.

Results.

Although improvements were evident for both groups, nine of the 12 economic measures and six of the 13 social measures revealed a growing disparity favoring gaming nations during the 1990s, while six other measures suggested declining but continuing differences. These findings persisted in light of controls for population and urbanization, though many of the economic differences disappeared for the rural nations.

Conclusion.

Gaming has had a positive economic and social impact on the gaming pueblos and tribes in New Mexico, especially for the more urbanized nations. The gaming nations are enjoying higher incomes, lower levels of poverty, and improvements in selected social areas compared to those nations opting not to pursue casino gaming in the 1990s.

Gun Lake Band Casino Financing Should Not Be Affected by Stations Casino’s Bankruptcy

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Vegas Review-Journal:

While Station Casinos plans to file for bankruptcy in March, a joint venture of the casino company plans to seek financing and break ground within weeks on a $200 million American Indian casino in Michigan.

Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson said its tribal gaming contracts wouldn’t be affected by the restructuring because contracts are held separately from the casino company’s financing structure.

Station Casinos announced late Tuesday its plans for prepackaged bankruptcy pending approval from investors holding $2.3 billion of the company’s $5.4 billion debt load.

Dennis Farrell Jr., a bond analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets, agreed the pending bankruptcy would not affect financing for the new casino.

“It will be financed on its own and Stations will help support the project,” said Farrell, adding that the company will collect a management fee once the casino opens.

***The Michigan casino was able to move ahead when a 10-year legal struggle by the Gun Lake Tribe, also known as the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, ended Jan. 30. At that time, the U.S. Department of Interior authorized the placing of 146 acres into trust. That move was made possible when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Jan. 21 not to hear an opposition group’s petition to block the casino.

The tribe’s gaming compact should be voted on in the Michigan Legislature in the next few weeks, tribe spokesman James Nye said.

He said the tribe plans to break ground on the casino in the next “several weeks.”

It would take nearly 16 months to convert an old 192,000-square-foot factory and warehouse into a casino with up to 2,500 slots machines, 75 table games, restaurants and a buffet.