Grand Traverse man a spokesman for anti-gaming group

Thursday, April 22, 2010  

James Nye, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is serving as spokesperson of Protect MI Vote, a group opposed to the expansion of gaming in Michigan.

The group opposes a proposal to authorize casinos at five racetracks and another one for seven casinos throughout the state. Nye contends each community should be allowed to vote on whether it wants gaming.

"We are working to preserve the right of each community to have a vote on gaming expansion," Nye told The Kalamazoo Gazette.

Nye also serves as spokesperson for the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe. The tribe started construction on the Gun Lake Casino after a long battle with anti-gaming groups.

"The man’s goal is to make sure there is no competition," Daniel Adkins, the spokesperson or the pro-expansion group Racing to Save Michigan, told the Gazette. Adkins said Nye's group receives tribal gaming funds.

Get the Story:
Southwest Michigan groups clash over proposed expansion of gambling in Michigan (The Kalamazoo Gazette 4/22)