Lac du Flambeau Band seeks $50M for gaming debts

Tuesday, February 12, 2008  

The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is weighing a $50 million bond deal to refinance debt on its Wisconsin casino and finance a gaming project in Mississippi.

The bond would be financed by mortgaging fee lands on the reservation. Proceeds would be used to refinance a $22 million debt on the Lake of the Torches Resort Casino while another $28 million would go to complete a riverboat in Mississippi.

The tribe has already spent $8 million on the riverboat. Without additional funds, contractors will walk off the job, a tribal attorney said.

The tribe is going through a cash crisis due to lower than expected revenues at the casino and existing debt.

Get the Story:
LDF Reservation Mortgage (AP 2/12)
Chippewa band may mortgage tribal land (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 2/9)