"The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians remains committed to pursuing a casino in Muskegon County, which is part of our traditional land. While we are disappointed with Gov. Rick Snyder's recent comments made to The Muskegon Chronicle on tribal gaming(“Snyder explains opposition to local casino,” Aug. 31), we will continue to work with the community to show the governor the economic benefits for the people of west Michigan and the state and encourage him to step back and evaluate tribal casinos on a case-by-case basis regarding market conditions and community sentiment.

The governor's No. 1 job is to create jobs in our state. There is no prospective project in the Muskegon area that would create more jobs than the LRBOI's proposed casino. The Little River Band encourages Gov.Snyder to evaluate our gaming project based on the standards applied by the federal government. Does the casino project benefit the tribal community, the local community and the state? Our project is expected to generate more than 1,100 jobs, resulting in a $100 million investment and a $400 million dollar per year economic impact for the Muskegon area.

Gov. Snyder says he is concerned about our tribe owning a second casino. Yet, six federally recognized tribes in Michigan already have more than one casino. Seven tribes can open an unlimited number of casinos and nine of the twelve Michigan tribes can own more than one casino without the approval of the governor. And just this week, the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians opened its second casino site, a satellite casino in Hartford."

Get the Story:
Larry Romanelli: Little River Band responds to Gov. Snyder on proposed casino (The Muskegon Chronicle 9/5)

Related Stories:
Opinion: Readers react to off-reservation gaming in Michigan (9/1)
Michigan governor opposes Little River off-reservation casino (8/30)