gaming

Little River Ottawa Muskegon Casino Details

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the Muskegon Chronicle:

Tribe proposes $100 million casino with 800 jobs

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.

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Staudenmaier on “Reservation Shopping”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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

Casinos close to cashing in

Singel1 Comment

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.

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Shinnecock Loses Rule 59 Motion; Permanent Injunction Granted on IGRA Claim

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

New York successfully defended a judgment in its favor from last November (noted here) from a Rule 59 motion to modify the judgment. Also, the district court issued a permanent injunction against the Shinnecock Indian Nation, preventing them from opening a gaming operation under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Here are the materials:

DCT Order Issuing Permanent Injunction

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Little River Ottawa Proposal to Game in Muskegon

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From Indianz:

Little River Band interested in off-reservation casino

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is entering the off-reservation casino game in Muskegon, Michigan.

The tribe plans to make a presentation to the city commission on Monday. Ogema Larry Romanelli says the tribe is interested in a casino in Muskegon — about 80 miles from tribal headquarters in Manistee. The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians recently proposed an off-reservation casino in Muskegon. The tribe’s headquarters are about 500 miles away. The Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, an unrecognized tribe, is also interested in a casino in the city.

Get the Story:
Muskegon officials to hear another casino pitch (The Muskegon Chronicle 2/8)

Granholm Amendment to Bay Mills Charlotte Beach Settlement

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

As reported earlier, here is the amendment to the Bay Mills Indian Community settlement agreement executed last November.

Bay Mills Indian Community 2002 Settlement

Bay Mills Indian Community 2007 Settlement Amendment

Written Testimony from House Resources Hearing re: Off-Rez Gaming

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Carl Artman–Dept. of Interior

 Jeff Parker–Bay Mills Indian Community

Aaron Payment–Sault Tribe

Alan Lambert–Romulus

Karl Tomion–Port Huron

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Abramoff-Style Media Assault on Port Huron/Flint/Romulus Deal

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Port Huron Times Herald:

Casino foes launch blitzes in Detroit, D.C.

A media blitz aimed at rallying opposition to proposed casinos in Port Huron and Romulus is being orchestrated by a public-relations consultant who has worked for some of the biggest names in Democratic politics.

Peter Ragone III confirmed he is president of the newly created Americans for Gaming Reform Inc., which has launched a radio campaign in Detroit and bought a full-page ad Tuesday in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill.

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News Coverage of House Hearing on Port Huron/Romulus Indian Land Claims Settlement: “Scam”?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit Free Press:

During his testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee, Kilpatrick seemed at ease, defending his city from incursions he said no one should doubt would hurt Detroit’s three casinos.

“We’re pitting Port Huron against Romulus against Detroit,” he told the committee, with his mother, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, looking on.

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Split in State Court Authority on Whether Casino Dram Shop Actions are Barred by Tribal Sovereign Immunity

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

As Trent noted, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held 7-2 that dram shop actions filed against tribal casino operations are not barred by tribal sovereign immunity in Bittle v. Bahe. This decision conflicts with decisions of other state courts, including those of Arizona (Filer v. Tohono O’odham Nation), Texas (Holguin v. Ysleta del Sur Pueblo), and Washington (Foxworthy v. Puyallup). And, as we know by reading Rule 10 of the United States Supreme Court rules, the Supreme Court is predisposed toward hearing cases in which there is a split of lower court authority involving an important federal question.

This may be a troubling development, though perhaps not as a result of this case. If the tribe refuses to petition the Supreme Court for certiorari, then this case will be over. Moreover, even if the tribe petitions, the Court might let this one go because of lower court outcome isn’t troublesome to the Court.

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