From the Freep:
Greektown Casino can borrow the money it needs to complete its new 400-room hotel, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ruled today.
Judge Walter Shapero approved $22.5 million in loans, part of a $46-million financing package that the downtown casino owners say is needed to keep its general contractor on the job.
Here is the cover page of the brochure — Brochure Page 1
And here is the agenda — Brochure Page 2
And here is the press release:
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Tribal leaders from 11 of the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan will attend the first Building Strong Sovereign Nations (BSSN) Conference, Feb. 4-5 at Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, in Williamsburg, Mich.
It is the first tribal governance training of its kind that will be held on Indian land in conjunction with a university. Participants will come from tribal communities located across the upper and lower peninsulas.
“We are thrilled at the broad intertribal interest,” says Aaron Payment, American Indian liaison for Michigan State University (MSU) Extension. “This initiative is just the first step. We plan to work even more closely with tribes to identify additional training and to bring this training to them.”
Continue reading
Looks like they need $46 million more (news article).
greektown-motion-for-additional-financing
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greektown-proposed-credit-agreement-part-3
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From Michigan City News Dispatch:
NEW BUFFALO, Mich. – The last position on the Local Revenue Sharing Board has been filled, moving it closer to being able to distribute some $5 million in Four Winds casino money to local units of government and schools.
Chikaming Township Supervisor Jeanne Dudeck has been appointed as the fifth member of the board. Representatives from eight local governments and school districts in southern Berrien County chose Dudek on a 5-to-3 vote in a meeting Wednesday at the New Buffalo Township Hall. They voted unanimously to make the fifth LRSB seat a rotating two-year position.
From Indianz:
After a lengthy court battle, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, finally has a place to call home.
The tribe celebrated after the Bureau of Indian Affairs placed 147 acres into trust. The land was the subject of an anti-gaming lawsuit that ended last week. “Today we rejoice knowing that all our hard work has paid off and the sacrifices of our ancestors was not made in vain,” said Chairman D.K. Sprague. “Now it’s official. Justice has been served to those who were motivated by greed and power to delay this project for nearly ten years.” The tribe plans to build a casino on the site in western Michigan. A press conference will be scheduled in the coming works to announce details.
Get the Story:
Gun Lake tribe says casino land in Wayland has been taken into trust (The Grand Rapids Press 1/30)
From the Leelanau Enterprise:
Hank Bailey wanted to become the first member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to kill a bull elk with a muzzle loader.
HANK BAILEY: with the elk he shot.
He figures Michigan’s elk herd had been mostly devastated before his ancestors started hunting with firearms. After the herd was re-established by state biologists early last century, hunts were strictly regulated and the odds of receiving a tag were slight.
Judge Leon ruled from the bench in this case on Monday, denying a TRO motion from Patchak, a member of 23 is Enough and MichGO (although he challenges that last part), to stop the trust acquisition of land in Allegan County for the Gun Lake Band.
Here is the transcript: patchak-v-kempthorne-transcript
Given the judge’s hostility toward Patchak’s attorney and legal positions, occasionally labeling them frivolous, one could argue (I suppose) that a Rule 11 motion could be in order. But I highly doubt that such a motion would be treated favorably by Judge Leon, who does not appear to suffer fools gladly.
Here are the pleadings.
From Crain’s Detroit Business:
wo Detroit casinos are rolling snake eyes in the debt market.
A top ratings service downgraded its outlook for MotorCity Casino‘s parent company, citing a host of financial concerns. Greektown Holdings L.L.C. has until the end of this week to submit a reorganization plan that can resolve its swelling debts without need for a sale.
An agreement entered in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last month between the troubled Greektown Casino owners and its creditors gives the parties until Feb. 1 to submit a “co-exclusive” plan to restructure and settle its debts.
In other words, if the casino company doesn’t submit a plan — with the consent of as many bondholders and other litigants as possible — by the deadline, creditors can submit restructuring plans of their own.
From Western Michigan Business:
A [federal] court judge today dismissed the final legal obstacle to the Gun Lake Band of Pottawatomi Indians‘ casino plans.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon denied former Wayland Township Trustee David Patchak‘s request for a stay blocking the Department of Interior from taking land near Wayland into trust for the Gun Lake Band while the Supreme Court of the United States considers a tribal gaming case in Rhode Island.
The Supreme Court last week refused to hear an appeal by Grand Rapids-based Michigan Gambling Opposition — MichGO — to derail permanently taking the 147 acres into trust for the tribe.
Turtle Talk 
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