"The Gun Lake casino is just over the horizon.
It's hard to believe anything else.
In a few months, the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington most likely will rule in the tribe's favor -- just as it has for two other West Michigan tribes.
That will knock down the last legal challenge to the Wayland Township casino.
Soon after, state lawmakers will probably give thumbs up to a revenue sharing agreement between the tribe and state -- one already signed by the governor.
But even without that compact, the tribe said it will proceed.
By next spring, construction should be under way on the $200 million gaming house at the Bradley exit off U.S. 131.
Am I overstating the case? Not really. Even those who once opposed the casino concede the legal battle is a "field that's already been plowed."
The outcome got a lot easier to predict last week after tribal casinos won the second of the three almost identical legal battles.
Over the Fourth of July came news a Battle Creek tribe won in the U.S. Court of Appeals -- the same court where a New Buffalo tribe won a nearly identical case."
Get the Story:Nancy Crawley: End game: Gun Lake tribe will win casino (The Grand Rapids Press 7/8)
