gaming

Jeff Parker in Business Week re: Metro Detroit Casino Proposals

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Business Week:

MGM Mirage’s Hidden Card

The flyers mailed to homes across Michigan in late January looked like the handiwork of a group bitterly opposed to gambling. They pictured dice emblazoned with exclamation marks, piles of crumpled-up cash, and text blaring: “Washington Poised to Force Two New Casinos on Michigan Families. Only You Can Stop the Special Interests.” The outfit behind this grassroots campaign calls itself Gambling Watch.

As it turns out, Gambling Watch is a tiny operation financed by MGM Mirage (MGM), one of the world’s largest gaming companies. MGM is locked in a bitter dispute with two Native American tribes that hope to open casinos in Michigan. The Las Vegas company inaugurated a new $800 million casino in downtown Detroit in October and is not in the mood for competition. There’s nothing underhanded about its tactics, MGM says. “We’ve made no secret of where we are on this,” says Alan Feldman, senior vice-president for public affairs at MGM Mirage.

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Detroit News: Feds Defend Casino Plan Rejections

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit News:

WASHINGTON — Indian tribes face long odds in winning federal approval for casinos hundreds of miles away from their reservations, the Bush administration told Congress on Wednesday.

In defending the decision to reject 22 such off-reservation casino applications around the country, officials further angered tribal leaders who told the House Resources Committee that the government is trying to force Indians to stay on reservations with high unemployment and few opportunities.

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Wildenthal on Donovan v. Coeur d’Alene Tribal Farm — MSU Law Review

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Bryan Wildenthal has posted “How a Ninth Circuit Panel Opinion Overruled a Century of Supreme Court Indian Law Jurisprudence — And Has So Far Gotten Away With It” on SSRN. This paper is part of the Michigan State Law Review’s symposium on federal labor law and tribal sovereignty.

Here’s the abstract:

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Written Testimony from House Resources Hearing re: New Fee to Trust Guidance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the House Resources Committee:

Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Carl Artman, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

Panel 2
The Honorable Lorraine White, Chief, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, Akwesasne, NY
The Honorable Vincent Armenta, Tribal Chairman, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Santa Ynez, CA
The Honorable Hazel Hindsley, Tribal Chairwoman, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Webster, WI
Mr. Jeff Warnke, Director, Government and Public Relations, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Oakville, WA

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Grand Traverse Band Revenue Sharing Slowly Declining

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

From the Leelanau Enterprise (H/T Indianz):

This winter’s “2-percent” payments from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are down for the third year in a row to the lowest level in more than a decade.

The twice-yearly payments represent two percent of the revenues earned from video slot machines at the tribe’s Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown and Turtle Creek Casino in Grand Traverse County. The tribe is required to pay out the money to local units of government in the immediate vicinity of tribal casinos for governmental services and “for impacts associated with existence” of tribal casinos in their vicinity under terms of a 1993 federal court consent decree. Since 1994, the tribe has paid out around $18 million in “2-percent” money.

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Native Nations Institute Paper on Tribal Per-Capita Revenue Distributions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona has just posted a new paper analyzing tribal per-caps.

from Arizona Native Net:

The paper examines policy considerations relevant to per capita distribution of tribal revenues. It offers Native nation leaders and citizens food for thought as they consider whether or not to issue per capita payments and, if they choose to do so, how to structure the distribution of funds and make that distribution serve tribal goals.

Kevin Washburn testimony re: New Guidance on Off-Rez Gaming Lands Acquisitions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kevin Washburn has posted on SSRN his testimony for tomorrow’s hearing before the House Resources Committee on the new guidance for the acquisition of off-reservation trust lands for gaming purposes.

St. Croix Chippewa Fee to Trust Litigation Update

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

St. Croix Band of Chippewa lost a motion for a preliminary injunction in their attempt to avoid the new off-reservation gaming rules [see here for Bryan Newland’s analysis of the new rules].

Here are the materials:

Motion for TRO or Preliminary Injunction

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House Resources Committee Hearing re: New Fee-to-Trust Guidance Announced

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From Indianz:

The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, February 27, to discuss the Bush administration’s new land-into-trust policy.

In January, assistant secretary Carl Artman issued guidelines that make it harder for tribes to take land into trust for off-reservation casinos. More scrutiny will be applied to gaming sites that are hundreds of miles away from existing reservations. [See Bryan Newland’s excellent commentary on these new rules here.]

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Off-Reservation Casino Bills Inspire Big Fight — Bay Mills & Sault Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Disgraced Republican lobbyists Jack Abramoff is in prison but his name is being thrown around a lot as the House considers legislation to authorize two off-reservation casinos.

Abramoff lobbied against casinos sought by tribes in Louisiana and Michigan. One of his former clients was the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, which spent $14 million in hopes of defeating rival gaming projects. The Saginaw Chippewas dumped Abramoff but the tribe is opposing legislation to allow the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to open casinos hundreds of miles from existing reservation. Other opponents include members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Las Vegas gaming interests. “I’m somewhat optimistic that we can get this through Congress, which is not to say it isn’t going to be a battle,” Bay Mills Chairman Jeff Parker told The Port Huron Times Herald. “Those opposed to this for financial reasons will continue to throw money at it.”

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