Casino Stalker | Compacts | Litigation

Soo Tribe continues off-reservation casino pursuit despite ruling

Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians won't drop plans for an off-reservation casino in Michigan despite a judge's ruling barring them from moving forward without the approval of all of the state's tribes.

A provision in the Class III gaming compact requires an agreement among all tribes that includes revenue sharing from an off-reservation casino. But Chairman Aaron Payment said other tribes opened new casinos without securing an agreement.

“Other tribes have opened secondary casinos since the 1993 compact was signed and they didn’t have to seek our permission. It’s their sovereign right to do what they’re doing," Payment told The Grand Rapids Business Journal.

Other tribes, however, believe the Lansing Kewadin Casino is dead in the water as a result of the decision. “The chances are about one in a million that that would happen. ... That means there’s no chance,” James Nye, a spokesperson for other tribes that oppose the new facility, told The Lansing State Journal.

Get the Story:
'No chance' of agreement to resolve Lansing casino lawsuit (The Lansing State Journal 3/7)
Judge blocks Sault Tribe Lansing casino over tribal revenue sharing (The Grand Rapids Business Journal 3/6)
Tribe Will Continue Pursuit of Casino (WLNS-TV 3/6)