From MIRS and Pechanga:

Without any of the standard federal or state approvals, the Bay Mills Tribe opened a new casino today near Vanderbilt off Interstate 75 in the Northern Lower Peninsula.

The 40-slot machine facility is located in a renovated Project Nature Welcome Center. Tribal members are familiar with the Vanderbilt area as they have been hunting elk in the region since 2007, exercising off-reservation treaty rights established with the 2007 Inland Consent Decree.

“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time,” said Bay Mills Chairman Jeff PARKER.

Apparently the tribe is testing a legal theory that, if it were to hold up, could open the floodgates for establishing tribal casinos without having to worry about the red tape that usually delays such projects for years. Some observers claim it could ultimately affect the status of an off-reservation site the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians own at Pinnacle Racetrack in Romulus.

Bay Mills and the Soo tribe were once a single tribe.

The move came as a complete surprise to state and federal officials. The tribe jumped through none of the usual legal hoops involved with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). In fact, its plan seems to involve specifically avoiding taking the land in trust, which is a key step in the IGRA process.

It usually takes years of working through the IGRA process to obtain the necessary sign-offs from the U.S. Department of Interior and the state to establish even an on-reservation casino.

The tribe’s reservation is located in the Upper Peninsula, centered at Brimley. However the casino Bay Mills opened today was on land far from the reservation. What’s more, the tribe bought the property less than three months ago.
President Ronald REAGAN signed IGRA in 1988. Ever since, IGRA guidelines have been an open target for almost any and every legal theory an attorney could convince a tribe to try out.

The theory Bay Mills seems to be pursuing is that because it purchased the land near Vanderbilt with money it had received in exchange for giving up its aboriginal lands, the land is therefore exempt from the usual impediments IGRA placed on off-reservation gaming.

The entire issue of off-reservation gaming, as it pertains to IGRA is currently being reviewed nationally (See “Minnesota Event <http://mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3437%2325188%20&gt;  Could Affect Muskegon Casino,”10/20/10).

The Bay Mills decision to test the legal theory might have been timed to coincide with the national discussion. In addition, it might also have been timed to take place prior to Governor-elect Rick SNYDER taking office.
Snyder is believed to be less amenable to gaming expansion than Gov. Jennifer  <http://mirsnews.com/lob_bio.php?cid=532&gt; GRANHOLM has been. However, the Granholm administration quickly voiced opposition to Bay Mills opening the Vanderbilt casino today.

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