July 4, 2008
The Hannahville Indian Community of Michigan will open a golf course at its casino next week.
The Sweetgrass Golf Club at the Island Resort & Casino is part of the tribe's effort to attract more visitors to the region, Chairman Ken Meshigaud said. 'Golf is No. 1 from the perspective of a resort," Meshigaud told The Escanaba Daily Press.
The course opens to the public on July 11.
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New golf course at casino
(The Escanaba Daily Press 7/4)
The casino owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians generates $24 million a month in slot machine revenues, according to figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
The Four Winds Casino Resort opened in August 2007. From October 1, 2007, through March 30, 2008, the casino took in $146.6 million in slot revenues, or about $24.4 million a month.
Adding table game revenues, the casino generates about $27 million a month. "It seems to be doing very well, despite the economy," spokesperson Tom Shields told The South Bend Tribune.
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Four Winds nets $24 million/month
(The South Bend Tribune 7/3)
"Well, the U.S. House of Representatives, via intensive, expensive lobbying, defeated our attempt to have a casino in Port Huron. I wasn't originally in favor of the casino, but we really need employment opportunities and a casino sure would have fit the bill.
[U]ntil we get a casino or our community rebounds economically, I will not spend one nickel in the city of Detroit. If I have business there, I will purchase my food and gas in St. Clair County. I will drive back and forth across the river or to a casino where the leadership was supportive of a Port Huron casino. When Detroit wanted casinos, residents of the state of Michigan supported their efforts. That support certainly has not been returned.
Good luck with your economic woes, Detroit. You'll get the same help from me that you've given us -- nothing."
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Melinda Johnson: We won't forget Detroit's actions against casino
(The Port Huron Times Herald 7/3)
The National Labor Relations Board has approved the first union at a tribal casino.
The 2-0 decision overruled objections from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, owners of the Foxwoods Resort Casino. The tribe had challenged the use of English ballots for Chinese-speaking employees.
The NLRB did not address tribal sovereignty issues. Chairman Peter Schaumber, who participated in the decision, has said he objects to the imposition of federal labor law on tribes.
The United Auto Workers won the right to organize among 3,000 card dealers at Foxwoods. The union called for the tribe to negotiate a bargaining agreement
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Ruling on union vote favors dealers
(The Norwich Bulletin 7/3)
NLRB Upholds Foxwoods Dealers' Union Election (The Hartford Courant 7/3) Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom
NLRB says Foxwoods union vote stands up (The New London Day 7/3) Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom
July 3, 2008
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) lacked authority to enter into a Class III gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe, the state's highest court ruled today.
The decision said Crist overstepped his bounds by allowing the tribe to offer games that are not legal in the state.
The court noted that the tribe is subject to state jurisdiction under Public Law 280.
"Based on these state and federal provisions, what is legal in Florida is legal on tribal lands, and what is illegal in Florida is illegal there," the opinion stated.
The court did not determine whether the tribe can offer the games as a matter of law under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1998. Instead the court said it should be up to the state Legislature to determine what types of gaming are legal.
"Neither the Governor nor anyone else in the executive branch has the authority to execute a contract that violates state criminal law," the court said.
The tribe began negotiations after voters in southern Florida legalized slot machines. The resulting compact allowed slot machines and card games.
Republicans filed suit, saying the card games are illegal under state law.
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High court: Crist overstepped on casino deal
(The Miami Herald 7/3)
Court invalidates pact to allow Seminole blackjack (The Palm Beach Post 7/3)
Court nixes state's casino compact with Seminoles (The Orlando Sentinel 7/3)
A Connecticut town has sued a gaming manufacturer that supplies slot machines to the casino owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
The town of Ledyard claims that WMS Gaming owes property taxes on machines leased to the Foxwoods Resort Casino. Over $18,000 is at issue.
In a related lawsuit pending in state court, the tribe says the town's tax hasn't been authorized by Congress, the tribal-state gaming compact or the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act.
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Ledyard sues gaming firm over tax issue
(The New London Day 7/3) Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom
The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma will open its $301 million casino resort on Saturday.
The media got a preview of the million square-feet Downstream Casino Resort. It features 70,000 square-feet of gaming space with 2,000 slot machines, 30 table games and a 14-table poker room.
“When everybody comes here to the opening this weekend, I think they’re going to be blown away,” construction contractor John Snyder told The Joplin Globe.
Later this fall, the tribe will open a 222-room hotel and conference center. A second hotel, a golf course and a outdoor concert venue are in the works.
The resort is located in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. The land on the Oklahoma side is in trust and will be used for the gaming portion.
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Downstream Casino Resort ready to open Saturday
(The Joplin Globe 7/3)
Casino to open on tri-state border (The Arkansas Democrat Gazette 7/3)
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is being sued over two deaths at its casino in Idaho.
Donald S. Hanson, 55, and Richard E. Stokes, 49, died in a June 2006 fire at the Coeur d'Alene Casino. The fire was determined to be an accident but it was linked to fireworks and propane stored in a shipping container at the casino.
The families of the two victims filed claims in state and tribal court for more than $1.8 million.
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Families sue N. Idaho tribe in casino deaths
(AP 7/3)
California tribes are monitoring legislation that could pave the way for online poker in the state.
AB 2026 authorizes the state Department of Justice to create guidelines and regulations for online poker. Final approval of Internet games would be required by another bill sometime in the future.
Tribes are concerned that they could be shut out by the state's requirements, state Sen. Jim Battin, a Republican said. They might have to renegotiate Class III compacts in order to offer online games, Battin said.
Congress outlawed Internet gaming in 2006 but the law contains provisions to protect tribal rights.
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Levine’s online poker proposal is closely monitored by gaming tribes
(The Capitol Weekly 7/3)
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is planning to open a Class II facility but would eventually like to negotiate a Class III compact with South Dakota, the tribe's construction manager said.
The tribe plans a $6 million to $7 million resort with a hunting theme, a casino and a boat dock on Lake Oahe. The facility would open by 2009, construction manager John Hunt said.
The tribe is the only one in the state without a casino. Other tribes have Class III compacts but are limited to 250 slot machines while non-Indian operators have installed over 8,500.
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Tribe plans casino resort on shore of Lake Oahe
(The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 7/3)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe plans casino (The Rapid City Journal 7/3)
July 2, 2008
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe plans to build a Class II gaming facility on Lake Oahe in South Dakota.
The gaming site is on the reservation but the tribe is seeking approval from the Stanley County to rezone the land. County commissioners seemed receptive to the idea, The Capital Journal reported
Tribal construction manager John Hunt said the big hurdle will be paying for municipal services to the new casino.
The tribe lost 150,000 acres of its reservation during the creation of Lake Oahe.
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Tribe looks to build casino in Stanley County
(The Capital Journal 7/2)
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed a Class III gaming compact with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians on Tuesday.
The deal allows the tribe to install a maximum of 5,000 slot machines at its new Red Hawk Casino. The tribe will share between 20 percent and 25 percent of net winning from slot machines, the highest rate in the state.
The tribe also agreed to pay $4.6 million a year to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, a much higher amount than any other tribe. Other provisions address environmental impacts, state audits, employment, minimum internal control standards, arbitration, problem gambling and building and safety codes.
The casino will open later this year.
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New casino pact gives state a record share
(The Sacramento Bee 7/2) Username: indianz, Password: indianzcom
Press Release: Schwarzenegger Signs Compact with Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (Gov. Schwarzenegger 7/1)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs won't require the North Fork Rancheria of
Mono Indians of California to consider another casino site.
In one of his final actions as assistant secretary, Carl Artman asked the BIA's Pacific region to study another site for the proposed casino in Madera County. The move would have delayed consideration of the environmental impact statement of the $250 million project.
The Pacific region, however, has rejected Artman's directive. Acting regional director Amy Dutschke said the site wasn't viable -- it's not within the boundaries of the original rancheria and would require significant environmental remediation.
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Highway 99 casino wins key decision
(The Fresno Bee 7/2) Username: indianz, Password: indianzcom
Nevada's Congressional delegation helped kill legislation that would have authorized two off-reservation casinos in Michigan.
Gambling is legal in Nevada but Rep. Shelley Berkley (D), Rep. Jon Porter (R) and Rep. Dean Heller (R) argued that the off-reservation casinos would hurt local communities in Michigan. Joining the effort was gaming giant MGM Mirage, Nevada’s largest employer, which even funded an anti-gaming group that warned of the negative effects of casinos.
MGM Mirage had a big reason to oppose the bill. The company operates a commercial casino in Detroit that would have been affected by a least one of the off-reservation casinos.
The vote against the bill was 298 to 121.
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Nevada trio help kill Michigan casino plan
(The Las Vegas Sun 7/2)
A federal judge issued a stay in a Class III gaming compact dispute between the Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians and the state of California.
Judge William McCurine said he won't force the two parties to negotiate until the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals can rule on the case. The state is challenging a decision that it has been negotiating in "bad faith" with the tribe.
The tribe wants to operate more slot machines at the Harrah's
Rincon Casino. The state is demanding a cut of the revenues but hasn't offered a "meaningful" concession, according to an April 29 ruling.
The stay issued yesterday depends on the 9th Circuit fast-tracking and issuing its own stay, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
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Judge won't force state, tribe into talks
(The San Diego Union-Tribune 7/2)
July 1, 2008
The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska is willing to pay gambling taxes to the state of Iowa, Chairman Larry Wright Jr. said in an interview with The Des Moines Register.
Wright said the state will have to drop its opposition to the tribe's proposed casino in Carter Lake. The state's gaming tax is 22 percent of gross gaming revenues.
"We have been very open to the possibility of being different," Wright told the paper.
The state has filed a lawsuit against the National Indian Gaming Commission over the proposed casino. The state claims the land doesn't qualify for gaming under the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act.
In a December 31, 2007, decision, the NIGC said the land qualifies for an exception in Section 20 of IGRA because it was taken into trust as part of the tribe's federal recognition. Congress restored the tribe to recognition in 1990.
The state of Nebraska is also suing over the proposed casino.
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Tribe: We'll consider paying taxes
(The Des Moines Register 7/1)
The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut has lost one of its partners in a bid for a commercial casino in Kansas.
The tribe, owners of the Mohegan Sun Casino, purchased the one-third interest held by Olympia Gaming in the "Legends Sun" project. RED Development LLC remains a partner in the proposed casino.
The Legends Sun is among five bidders seeking the casino in Wyandotte County. The Kansas Supreme Court on June 27 ruled that the law authorizing commercial casinos was constitutional.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation was pursuing a casino in the state but dropped out of the bidding in May.
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Las Vegas company sells stake in Wyandotte County casino proposal
(The Kansas City Star 7/1)
A federal judge plans to issue a ruling by July 8 in a lawsuit that questions the legality of the Seneca Nation's off-reservation casino in Buffalo, New York.
In January 2007, Judge William M. Skretny ruled that the National Indian Gaming Commission failed to determine whether the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino met the definition of "Indian lands" under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The NIGC subsequently said the 9-acre site qualified for an exception in Section 20 of IGRA.
The tribe purchased the site with funds that were authorized by the Seneca Nation Land Claims Settlement Act. Section 20 of IGRA allows gaming for tribes with land claim settlements.
The tribe has been operating a temporary facility on the site since July 2007. The $333 million permanent facility is set to open in 2010.
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Judge nearing decision on suit to block Seneca casino in Buffalo
(The Buffalo News 6/30)
The state of Wisconsin says the Ho-Chunk Nation owes $100 million under a disputed Class III gaming compact.
The 2003 compact authorized additional Class III games in exchange for a share of the revenues.. But the tribe says it never installed more games due to litigation involving another tribe.
The state claims the Ho-Chunks must share revenues regardless and went to court to compel arbitration. On January 14, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the tribe waived its sovereign immunity.
A federal court has yet to determine how arbitration should proceed. Meanwhile, the tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 7th Circuit ruling in Ho-Chunk Nation v. Wisconsin.
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Tribe misses deadline to pay state $72 million
(The Madison State Journal 7/1)
Ho-Chunk Nation owes nearly $100 million, state says (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 7/1)
The San Carlos Apache Tribe has been issued a notice of violation (NOV) by the National Indian Gaming Commission for failing to file an audit report in a timely manner.
The tribe was issued the NOV on May 30. It states that the audit for the Apache Gold Casino was submitted 49 days late.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires tribes to submit independent audits for each gaming facility within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year. The tribe's fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, so the audit was due January 28, 2008.
The tribe could be fined $25,000 per violation per day but the NIGC typically reaches settlements for far less. On June 24, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana agreed to pay $10,000 for an audit that was four months late, though $5,000 will be forgiven if the tribe meets certain conditions.
Other recent NIGC enforcement actions include a NOV to the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma for a late audit report.
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Tribe may be fined for filing casino audit late
(The Arizona Republic 7/1)
June 30, 2008
Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico will open its new casino on August 12.
The $245 million Buffalo Thunder Resort features a casino, hotel and convention space. It's the tribe's second casino and third hotel.
Gov. George Rivera invited prominent Native artists to design works for the facility. Santa Clara potter Roxanne Swentzell, Acoma Pueblo potter Joseph Cerno and Navajo painter Tony Abeyta are among those represented.
“It's over $1 million just for the art objects,” Rivera told The Albuquerque Journal.
The two hotels at the resort are being managed by Hilton Hotels.
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New Pojoaque Resort Features Indian Art
(The Albuquerque Journal 6/29)
The Tule River Tribe of California seeking federal approval for an off-reservation casino.
The tribe operates the Eagle Mountain Casino on its reservation. A location closer to the city of Porterville would draw in more customers, administrator Rodney Martin said.
"We're going to be creating upwards of 1,000 jobs and creating a major draw for this area," Martin was quoted as saying. "Right now people are leaving Porterville and driving to Fresno or Visalia for their entertainment. We're looking to change that."
The city supports gaming on the tribe's 40-acre site.
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Tribe looks to build Porterville casino
(The Tulare Advance-Register 6/30)
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma hopes to open the first phase of its new casino in early 2009.
The 272,000 square-foot facility in Tulsa will feature a casino with 2,800 gaming machines, a 480-seat buffet and lounge area and a parking garage. The first phase will cost $160 million.
The second phase will feature a hotel and convention center.
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Bad weather delays casino construction
(The Tulsa World 6/28)
Table game dealers at one of the casinos owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut filed a complaint over tip sharing.
The dealers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino want to share tips with dealers at the tribe's new MGM Grand facility.
The dealers asked the tribal gaming commission for a hearing on the issue.
Dealers at Foxwoods voted to organize with the United Auto Workers union. The tribe is challenging the election before the National Labor Relations Board.
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Foxwoods dealers say they've filed complaint about tip sharing
(The Norwich Bulletin 6/28)
Dealers at Foxwoods challenge tip distribution (The New London Day 6/28) Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianzcom
"An article in Monday's edition was about the Sycuan tribe being allowed to skip on a payment to the state until next year, costing California a much-needed revenue of $30 million. What happened to the larger payments agreed on after voters allowed them to expand?
It was noted that just days before, Gov. Schwarzenegger's redistricting initiative was given a $45,000 donation by the same tribe. A spokesman for the tribe called the timing a coincidence? What a bunch of bunk.
What really annoys me the most is that they can just insult the taxpayers' intelligence by making such a comment. Let's see ... being allowed to skip on $30 million for one year at the cost of $45,000? That's a huge saving for the tribe while the state takes away much needed services from the poor and elderly. How many teachers or firefighters could we afford to keep with $30 million? "
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Vern Leathers: Missed payment not a mere coincidence
(The Chico Enterprise-Record 6/29)
"You know you've crossed into a parallel universe when Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick starts lecturing you on respect for the law.
Kilpatrick is a five-term Democratic congresswoman from Detroit and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, but she's perhaps best known as Kwame's Mommy. It seems quite possible she taught her son, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, everything he knows about obeying the law.
Given the absurdity of the House debate, it seems somehow fitting it occurred with the nation in mourning for comedian George Carlin, a man who knew absurd when it kicked him in the teeth.
If it wasn't Kilpatrick offering oratory on respect for law, it was Detroit's other Democratic congressional representative, John Conyers, giving a sermon on morality.
The Hill, which covers Congress, published a story about the casino bill last week and said Conyers "opposes gambling on principle."
That's interesting, but juxtapose it with an April item in Roll Call, another Capitol Hill news source. It reported Conyers had been "seen sporting a bright-red Coca-Cola T-shirt and silver suspenders aboard a Southwest flight from Vegas to Dulles."
He made the trip a day or two after the House Judiciary Committee, which he leads, voted unanimously to oppose the Port Huron casino bill.
MGM Mirage, the gambling giant owned by Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, operates a casino-hotel in Detroit and spent freely to crush the Port Huron bill. Roll Call did not indicate whether MGM played host to Conyers on his holiday, but the newspaper did suggest he had a grand time.
"Though he's called gambling a 'social evil,' Conyers, who was surrounded by handlers, looked like he was recovering from a 'very hearty party,'" the newspaper reported."
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Mike Connell: Casino vote turns into theater of the absurd
(The Port Huron Times Herald 6/29)
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