"There's a new Indian-run casino in Vanderbilt north of Gaylord along I-75. It's a small facility with just a few dozen slot machines.

Its opening came as a shock to the state, and to several Indian nations in northern Michigan who contend it's illegal.

The new casino opened so quietly early this month that its nearest competitor knew nothing of it.

"I heard 9&10 News was traveling over there to view the opening. So that's how we found out," says Ken Harrinton, chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. His tribe owns a much larger casino, about 30 miles away in Petoskey, The Odawa Casino Resort.

Harrington says the really weird part was that the Bay Mills Indian Community, the tribe that owns the new casino, had only days before talked with him and other tribal leaders about that land. Bay Mills officials said they were going to use the land for elk hunting, he says.

"And then they surprised us, like seven-to-ten days later with the casino opening," Harrington says."

Get the Story:
Vanderbilt Casino Controversy (IPR 11/15)

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