The long-awaited settlement agreement in a dispute between the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the state of Michigan does not open the door for the tribe to build a casino in Muskegon.
Many believed the deal would allow for a new casino built by the owners of the Little River Casino in Manistee. No such language is in the settlement, but speculation still abounds among local casino opponents and proponents.
The amended compact between the Little River Band and the state -- "deemed approved" by the U.S. Department of the Interior's inaction -- does put the Manistee tribe in a favorable position as it relates to any new casino that might be built in a nine-county area from Grand Rapids in the south to Cadillac on the north and west to Lake Michigan.
"A second casino in Muskegon has not been addressed with this new compact," said Glenn Zaring, director of public affairs for Little River.
Both the Little River Band and the Upper Peninsula-based Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewas have approached the city of Muskegon concerning a downtown casino, at least in part because of a September 2003 vote by residents supporting the idea of a casino here. The Lac Vieux Desert Band has a non-exclusive municipal services agreement with the city for its proposal to convert the former SPX Corp. headquarters into a casino.
For the full article, see Dave Alexander, "Tribe wins rights, but no casino, in Muskegon", Muskegon Chronicle via MLive, March 24, 2008.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment