Opinion

Letter: Make Fond du Lac Band feel the pain in gaming dispute

Friday, September 28, 2012

"In 2009, the tribe unilaterally stopped making payments to the city. Both parties made the original contract in “good faith” and now that “good faith” was broken. If it was a bad deal, so be it: Cancel the deal and take back the building and land. The city will lose $6 million a year, and the tribe will lose approximately $24 million a year, if my math is correct. If the court now says the original contract was illegal the land and building were always contingent on the revenue-sharing contract with the tribe. If the contract is void, the land and building goes back to the city. No harm, no foul.

The point is: Do something! Right now there is no downside for the tribe to drag this out in court as long as we allow it to operate the casino. It just keeps banking the money. The city should immediately, with no notice, close down the building, padlock the doors and cut off the utilities. Confiscate all equipment in the casino and hold it until the tribe makes good on the $24 million past-due revenue owed the city since 2009. The only way to get resolution to this issue is to let the tribe feel the pain also."

Get the Story:
Michael Nash: Duluth should close casino and share the pain (The Duluth News Tribune 9/28)