Wisconsin casino decision delayed

The Menominee Nation has been pushing to build an off-reservation casino in Kenosha for over two decades, hoping that a facility on the Wisconsin-Illinois border will draw gamblers from both the Milwaukee and Chicago metro areas and help pull their tribe out of poverty.

The federal government gave the tribe a huge boost last year when it gave the green light for the tribe’s plans for an $810 million facility at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park. The Menominee have promised the project would create thousands of jobs. Legislators from both parties who represent the area as well as local Kenosha officials support the casino, hoping it will be an economic boon. Walker has the final say in the matter The Forest County Potawatomi run one of the state’s most lucrative casinos in Milwaukee and do not want to face new competition on the block. They contend that the Menominee’s job creation promises are exaggerated and that the state’s gambling market is saturated.

The tribe also has criticized the Menominee’s deal with Hard Rock International to operate the casino. The Florida-based Seminole tribe owns Hard Rock, and the Potawatomi contend that means dollars spent here will flow out of the state. The Potawatomi’s 2005 gambling compact requires the state to reimburse the tribe for losses linked to a Kenosha casino. The Potawatomi have already refused to make their US$ 25 million annual payment to the state out of concerns that Wisconsin will end up owing the tribe if Walker approves the Kenosha facility.

What’s more, the Potawatomi have argued that the compact also requires the state to refund as much as US$ 100 million to the tribe if the new casino moves forward. Arbitrators in November came up with a compact amendment that formally requires the state to reimburse the Potawatomi for its losses.

The Menominee has offered to reimburse the Potawatomi, but the amendment would still hold the state responsible for making sure the Potawatomi are properly compensated. An attorney hired by Walker’s administration has warned that the amendment may be invalid because the governor doesn’t have the power to create annual spending obligations. The state is waiting for the ederal Bureau of Indian Affairs to either approve or nix the amendment. Walker must weigh the possibility of new jobs against potentially spending millions to cover the Potawatomi’s losses and alienating casino opponents as he mulls running for president in 2016.

His administration is waiting for a consultant to finish an independent analysis of the casino’s economic impact and for the BIA to make a call on the Potawatomi compact amendment. The governor has said that he wants to take as much time as necessary to make his final decision because he does not want to rush to a judgment which could cost the state millions.