Kirk and Scott,
Here is an article that appeared in the South Bend Tribune on Wednesday.
Tribe shares details of gaming plan
Up-to-$85-million facility possible in New Buffalo by fall of 1998
By LOU MUMFORD
Tribune Staff Writer
NEW BUFFALO, Mich. -- A $75 million to $85 million casino-resort development expected to attract some 5,000 people a day could be open here as early as fall of next year, according to officials associated with the project.
At a meeting Wednesday in the New Buffalo Township Hall, Mike Wesaw, finance officer and treasurer for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and Peter Weien, corporate director for gaming development for the tribe's casino partner Harrah's Entertainment, provided long-awaited details about the project.
Weien told a committee of local representatives charged with gathering information about the casino that the development at Interstate 94 and U.S. 12 will encompass 115,000 square feet. Of that amount, 38,000 square feet will be for the casino, which will feature 1,000 slot machines and 40 table games.
The remainder of the development will include a buffet-style restaurant with 250 seats, a specialty restaurant such as a steak house with 100 seats, a two- or three-story hotel featuring 200 rooms, an entertainment lounge, child care area and small retail shop, Weien said.
The casino is expected to attract an average of 5,000 people a day, most of whom would come from 26 miles to 150 miles away. Based on Harrah's expectation that it'll make a little more than $55 from each visitor, Weien said projections are that the casino will take in about $100 million a year.
Should those figures become reality, the 2 percent share of slot machine revenues returned to local governmental units would amount to about $1.5 million a year, Weien added.
But all bets are off unless the tribe overcomes its major obstacle and receives its Michigan gaming compact. The Pokagons' attempts to obtain a compact thus far have fallen short, largely because lawmakers in Lansing are still formulating rules for as many as three other casinos planned for Detroit.
But Wesaw said he expects the "Detroit issue" to be resolved within the next two months. Once it is, he said state compacts requested by the Pokagons and three other state Indian tribes should also receive the Legislature's stamp of approval.
"When they do, it'll accelerate the time line as to how this thing will progress," he said.
The anticipated time frame calls for the compact to be ratified by the Legislature this summer and by the National Indian Gaming Commission by the end of the year. Construction would then start in early 1998. Based on a nine-month time frame for construction, the casino would then be open by the fourth quarter of 1998.
Weien referred to such a time frame as a "fair and reasonable expectation."
Information displayed on an overhead projector stated the New Buffalo casino would have competition from other casinos in the area, including one in South Bend. But when asked about the referrence, Wesaw said it's actually St. Joseph County that the tribe and Harrah's have targeted for their Indiana casino.
He wouldn't elaborate but it's known the tribe is taking a hard look at a 100-acre site near the Michiana Regional Transportation Center and Blackthorn Golf Course. A meeting to discuss the scope of the St. Joseph County casino project has been slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Recital Hall of the Century Center in South Bend.
At least that meeting will feature plenty of room. Wednesday's session in New Buffalo was conducted in quarters so cramped that a number of casino opponents, in particular, weren't allowed inside.
Among those who eventually gained access was Jennifer Cochran, a member of the Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos. After Cochran inquired about whether a referendum might be conducted to determine the degree of local support, or lack of it, for a casino, Wesaw said it's the tribe's stance that the casino project has already gone beyond that point.
He said the Pokagons decided on the New Buffalo casino site after the New Buffalo city and New Buffalo Township boards adopted resolutions of casino support. Now, the only thing holding up the project, he said, is the state compact.
But TOMAC members wouldn't give up, with Liz Thomas arguing that court rulings have been handed down stating that Indian tribes don't have the right to locate casinos in communities where they're not wanted. Wesaw, however, said one such decision referred to off-reservation casinos, and he argued the situation would be different in New Buffalo because that casino would indeed be located on property designated as a tribal reservation.
Wesaw said the 2,600-member Pokagon tribe is willing to cooperate with local governmental units, going so far as negotiating terms for intergovernmental agreements pertaining to water and sewer services and even police protection. "We're a sovereign nation, but we won't be a menace to the community," he said.
Weien added the casino development would offer about 1,100 full-time jobs, 90 percent of which would be filled by local people. The average annual salary would be in the $26,000 range, he said.
Regarding casino hours, he said he anticipates it would be open 24 hours a day on weekends and perhaps weekdays as well, depending on the demand. |
