"As it turns out, the breaking news last week about a possible casino in Port Huron did not emerge from Washington D.C.

Nope, the real scoop took place quietly at a federal courthouse in Cincinnati.

That's where three briefs were filed in a legal showdown involving the state of Michigan and two federally recognized Indian tribes --the Bay Mills Chippewa and the Little Traverse Ottawa.

How that legal drama plays out in Cincinnati could determine whether a casino opens next summer at the old post office on Military Street.

JEFF PARKER, the Bay Mills tribal leader whose efforts to bring a casino to Port Huron are in their 20th year, spoke with me Friday morning over coffee at the Raven Café.

I had called earlier in the week, eager to hear his reaction to the Obama administration's decision to throw out the so-called "commutability standard" imposed by the Bush administration."

Get the Story:
Mike Connell: Casino battle shifts to Ohio (The Port Huron Times Herald 6/19)

Related Stories:
Judge won't issue stay for Bay Mills off-reservation casino (4/15)
Column: Bay Mills Indian Community ready to battle for casino (4/4)