Indian Gaming

The state of Michigan is threatening to shut down all of the gaming facilities operated by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed suit to prevent the tribe from acquiring a site in downtown Lansing for an off-reservation casino. At a hearing yesterday, assistant attorney general Lou Reinwasser said the state will go after the tribe's existing casinos if the judge doesn't stop the tribe.

“That’s what we will do if we need to,” Reinwasser told Judge Robert Jonker, The Lansing State Journal reported.

The tribe acquired the site for the proposed Lansing Kewadin Casino in connection with the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act. A land-into-trust application has not been filed.

However, the tribe believes the law requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the land in trust. Jonker indicated he will rule within 30 days.

Incidentally, most tribes in Michigan opposed Jonker's nomination as a federal judge. He belonged to an anti-gaming group and represented anti-gaming clients in land-into-trust cases. He lost all of them.

Get the Story:
Lansing casino lawsuit ruling could come within 30 days (The Lansing State Journal 1/24)
Fight over Lansing casino opens in federal court (MLive 1/24)
State of Michigan Challenges Proposed Lansing Casino in Federal Court (FOX 47 News 1/23)

Related Stories:
Michigan Radio: Hearing on Soo Tribe off-reservation casino (1/23)