Concerns Raised that "Investors" like Ivy Ong, Ilitch Family are Dangerous to Tribes' Long Term Interests

The Shinnecock Casino Campaign: Tribal Identity, Local Politics and Tangled Legalities

By John A. Strong

Professor Emeritus , Long Island University

...Ivy Ong, apparently frustrated that Peebles’ initial legal strategy had been rejected by Judge Platt, was reported to be negotiating the sale of his majority interest in the Shinnecock casino with [Michael Malik and ] Michael and Marian Ilitch, who own Little Caesar’s Pizza, the  Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino.

 Tribes have had to rely on sources of money and support which have their own agendas.  Signed agreements with tribes stipulating a specific percentage of the anticipated casino profits, for example, can be used as collateral to raise money for another enterprise.  Investors, such as Ivy Ong and the Ilitch family, are willing to spend huge sums of money in the hopes that there will be a profitable payoff in casino profits.
 
If there is no immediate pay-off, they move on, often leaving the tribe in disarray.  There is a danger that a small tribe will find it difficult to protect its own long term interests when dealing with such wealthy, highly sophisticated groups of investors and their teams of lawyers and public relations consultants...