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.]
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.”
This case involves a tortious interference with contract claim by Rinaldo that Nevada Gold involving the Timbisha Shoshone Indian Tribe. The California Court of Appeals (5th Dist.) (unpublished) affirmed the trial court decision finding no underlying contract between Rinaldo and Timbisha with which to tortiously interfere.
Here is the opinion.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008; Page A04
An unusual effort by several powerful congressmen to clear the way for two Indian casinos in Michigan is fueling a fierce multimillion-dollar lobbying battle of a scale not seen since the fall of Jack Abramoff.
More than a dozen lobbying firms have joined the fray on both sides, representing Indian tribes, well-connected Michigan developers and the Las Vegas-based gambling company MGM Mirage. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions have flowed to members of Congress considering bills that would allow the tribes to build casinos in populated areas away from their reservations. The bills pit senior Democrats against one another — among them three House committee chairmen, leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).
During a Full Committee MarkUp session today, the House Committee on Natural Resources voted to report HR 2176 (A bill to provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian Community) to the floor of the House of Representatives by a vote of 21 to 5.
The Committee also voted to report HR 4115 (A bill to provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) to the floor of the House of Representatives by a vote of 26 to 5.
HR 2176 authorizes the Bay Mills Indian Community to operate a gaming facility in Port Huron. HR 4115 authorizes the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to operate a similar facility in either Romulus or Flint. In both cases attempts to amend the bills were voted down.
We’ve posted about these bills and issues surrounding them here, here, here and here
From the Detroit Free Press:
Among John Engler’s last acts as governor of Michigan — on Dec. 30, 2002, to be precise — was approving a land claim settlement with two Upper Peninsula Indian tribes that gave them rights to property for two separate casinos in southeast Michigan. The settlement was long overdue, but the terms Engler allowed were way too generous to the tribes.
From Indianz:
The city council in Muskegon, Michigan, voted 5-2 to approve an agreement with the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for an off-reservation casino.
The deal requires the tribe to pay $2 million a year for municipal services plus 4 percent of net gaming revenues and other service fees. The total annual payment is estimated at $4.5 million. The agreement is non-binding and non-exclusionary. The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is also proposing an off-reservation casino in the city.
From the Muskegon Chronicle:
A downtown Muskegon casino proposed by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians would be nearly twice the size of the band’s Little River Casino in Manistee.
It would also appeal to a different market, tribal leaders told members of the Muskegon City Commission Monday night — an urban market that would pull in people from around Muskegon, Grand Rapids and as far east as Lansing, as opposed to the destination-resort setting of the Manistee gaming facility.
Here is a short article on “Reservation Shopping,” including a short discussion on the new rules from Interior on taking land into trust for gaming purposes — Reservation Shopping
by Chris Killian | Special to the Gazette
Saturday February 09, 2008, 6:32 PM
Two area gambling hubs could open by late next year, pending court ruling
Mark Bugnaski / GazetteKristine Albers checks new decks of cards at The Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo in August. By mid-to-late 2009, southwest Michigan could have two more casinos.
Two Native American casinos could be open in Southwest Michigan by the middle to end of next year, bringing with them an estimated 3,000 casino jobs, another 2,600 spin-off jobs and the potential for millions of dollars in annual local-revenue sharing. They would become the 22nd and 23rd casinos in the state, and both would be within an hour’s drive of Kalamazoo.Ground could be broken as soon as this spring on both the FireKeepers Casino in Emmett Township, just east of Battle Creek, and the Gun Lake Casino, in Wayland Township, about 35 miles north of Kalamazoo on U.S. 131.
Turtle Talk 
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