gaming – Page 138 – Turtle Talk

LRB Purchases Great Lakes Downs

July 17, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians purchased a defunct racetrack in Michigan for an undisclosed price.

The tribe wants to open a casino at the site near Muskegon. But official said there is no timetable for development. The tribe operates a casino on its reservation, about 80 miles away. The tribe has a branch office in Muskegon. Another Michigan tribe, the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, has expressed interested in a casino in Muskegon.

Get the Story:
Little River tribe buys Great Lakes Downs with hopes of opening casino (The Muskegon Chronicle 7/17)
Muskegon casino could face same opposition Gun Lake tribe encountered in Wayland Township (The Grand Rapids Press 7/17)
Tribal group wants casino at Great Lakes Downs (WOOD 7/16)
Magna sells Great Lakes Downs (The Thoroughbred Times 7/16)

Rand, Meister, and Light on the “Guidance”

July 16, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kathryn Rand, Alan Meister, and Steven Light have published “Questionable Federal ‘Guidance’ on Off-Reservation Indian Gaming: Legal and Economic Issues” in the Gaming Law Review. Here is a snippet:

In January 2008, Carl Artman, the assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, issued a memorandum titled, “Guidance on taking off-reservation land into trust for gaming purposes.” The guidance memo signaled a significant change in the department’s position on Indian gaming on newly acquired trust lands or “off-reservation” gaming, a change that had been brewing for more than four years.

The memo also garnered the immediate attention of Congress. In February 2008, the House Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on the memo for the purpose of examining “how the new Guidance was developed, whether it was lawfully enacted, the ramifications of the new requirements on all off-reservation fee to trust applications, and whether this signifies an attempt by the Administration to change Federal policy towards Indian tribes.” As Committee Chair Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) stated, “The potential change to the Federal policy towards Indian tribes is disturbing …. [W]e have to question if this Administration is advocating a policy to keep Indians on the reservation.”

Several legal and economic questions are raised by the guidance memo. This article is by no means intended to be the last word on the memo’s legality, nor on the wisdom of its requirements from legal, public policy, or economic perspectives. It is, however, meant to question the memo’s procedural genesis and substantive “guidance.”

Steven Light on Gaming and Intergovernmental Relations

July 11, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Steve Light (UND) has published “Indian Gaming and Governmental Relations: State-Level Constraints on Tribal Political Influence over Policy Outcomes” in the American Review of Public Administration. The article uses recent gaming compact and revenue sharing issues in Minnesota as a case study.

light-igr-in-minnesota

PPI v. Kempthorne – Denial of Injunction against Seminole Hard Rock Bingo

July 10, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order re: PPI’s request for an injunction in light of the Florida House v. Crist ruling. It was denied — once again, my favorite rule — Rule 19 — came into play. [Thanks to T.W.]

ppi-v-kempthorne-july-8-order

PPI’s complaint and request for an injunction is here.

gov-crist-opposition

federal-opposition

ppi-reply

Seneca Gaming Case Decided by DCT

July 9, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The district court in CECGAC v. Hogen held that the NIGC’s determination that Seneca gaming at its Buffalo parcel was valid under the land claims settlement exception was arbitrary and capricious, because no extant Seneca land claim existed at the time of the time of the settlement.

Here are the briefs. Here is the opinion.

Florida Supreme Court Rejects Seminole Compact

July 8, 2008Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

In Florida House of Representatives v. Crist, the Florida Supreme Court held that Gov. Crist did not have authority to bind the State with a Class III gaming compact. We’ve posted the briefs here.

Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd.

June 27, 2008Kate Fort

In a contract dispute between the Tribe and NGV gaming, the court interprets Congressional intent regarding the word “is” in 25 USC 81. Specifically, the Court was concerned with whether Congress intended the word “is” to include the present and future tense.

Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd.

Articles on BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills

June 26, 2008Kate Fort

The Freep

The Detroit News

Port Huron Times Herald

Soo Today

BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills Defeated in the House

June 25, 2008Kate Fort

In a vote this afternoon HR 2176–which was the Bay Mills bill and was amended in the nature of a substitute earlier in the day to include the text from HR 4115, the Sault Tribe bill–was defeated 121-298.