Signficant set backs for Detroit casino syndicators Mike Malik & Marian Ilitch in 2007

Things haven't been going well for Detroit casino syndicators Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Mrs. Marian Ilitch.

Port Huron casino scheme remains stalled in Congress after 15 years

Malik's plans for a Bay Mills Indian tribe off-reservation casino in Port Huron, Michigan have once again been derailed. The Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee failed to consider the proposal as was originally planned at a hearing held yesterday (11.15.07) in Washington, D.C. Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) said that any possible consideration of the scheme promoted by Malik's Blue Water Resorts wouldn't be heard until next year at the earliest. Malik and the Ilitch Family have been behind the Port Huron scheme for more than 15 years. A Malik associate has made claims that the casino syndicator has spent $10 million pushing his plan. Rumors are swirling that those involved with a federally subsidized plastics venture the tribe has fronted (including tribal President Jeff Parker and Malik) may be the target of an FBI investigation.

Barstow casino agreements terminated/expired

In September, the spokeswoman of the Los Coyotes Band of Indians informed BarWest LLC that it was terminating their partnership agreement. BarWest is a Malik/Ilitch casino syndicate formed in 2003 that has been pushing a scheme for two Indian casinos in Barstow, California. Similar to the scheme for Port Huron, the California legislature has refused to consider the unorthodox proposal the last two years and a gaming Compact that BarWest had negotiated for the tribe in 2005 expired this past September. Malik and the Ilitch Family have been pushing their Barstow casino scheme since 2001. Malik claims he's spent $19 million pushing their Barstow schemes. A squabble among the leadership of the Los Coyotes tribe has left people questioning who really makes decisions and speaks for the tribe today.

Federal Judge rules against Long Island casino scheme

A judge last month ruled that the Shinnecock Indian Nation can not build a casino on property it has obtained in Hampton Bays on Long Island. Gateway Casino Resorts, a Malik/Ilitch casino syndication, has been bankrolling the tribe's plans. In a 129-page ruling, Judge Joseph F. Bianco said a disputed parcel outside the reservation is not sovereign territory. Though the tribe owns the “Westwoods” land in fee, it lost aboriginal title hundreds of years ago. Bianco asserted that even if aboriginal title still existed, the tribe can’t use the site for gaming due to the “highly disruptive consequences” of the proposed 61,000-square-foot casino. Nearly 20 pages of the opinion were dedicated to the impacts of gaming on the environment, traffic, health and safety. The tribe has yet to receive federal recognition needed to develop any casino. A pre-dawn raid was conducted on the reservation and in the surrounding community this past year to round up members of a suspected drug ring.

MotorCity Casino's hotel opening delayed, casino revenues falling

In 2005, Marian Ilitch purchased all outstanding shares of Detroit Entertainment LLC and took 100% control of Detroit's MotorCity Casino. Since then she has undertaken what is now reported as a $300 million expansion of the gambling hall including a 25% increase in gaming space and the addition of a 400 room hotel. The expanded gaming floor opened in June and after a two month bump in revenue, the casino's revenues have now fallen for three consecutive months. And, the opening of the hotel property has been delayed by a month. While the staff blamed the delayed opening on late delivery of furniture; the truth is, the hotel property has lost some key personnel in recent months, construction isn't complete, and Ilitch faced the threat of a strike in October. This past year, Standard & Poors and Moodys downgraded the credit ratings of MotorCity Casino parent company CCM Merger, Inc. Malik was forced to share his original shares in MotorCity Casino back in 1999 when the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) refused to grant him a casino license.

Malik and Ilitch have seen little progress with new gambling ventures since they parted company with former partner Tom Celani several years ago. Celani, on the other hand, has gone on to further establish himself as a serious player in the gambling industry across the U.S.; and, this past year among other things Celani won the management contract for the Cal-Neva Resort in Lake Tahoe once owned by Frank Sinatra.

Harsens Island should be protected from Mike Malik's development schemes

11.16.07

Harsens Island should be protected from developers

I am writing to you in regard to a recent a special land use request submitted by the Lucky 7 Development Co. on Harsens Island.

This development group has tried every angle to move forward with its plans despite past refusals from the Department of Environmental Quality. Now, it seems its next plan is to convince the planning commission to grant a special-needs request when all of the community surrounding both on and off the island is against the request's approval.

I am very familiar with Harsens Island. I have biked on the island for many years. Our bike club has used the Harsens Island tour for its various fund-raising causes. This is a most popular place to ride as a group. Many say the island has a quaint feel, like Mackinac Island, without the more-than-5-hour drive.

I was deeply disappointed when I heard there was a proposal to close a most enjoyable and scenic portion of a public road, North Channel Drive, to the public to fit the needs of a private development. After further investigating the Lucky 7 development plans, I was shocked that such an exorbitant private complex would even be considered by anyone concerned with this community and environment.

This type of invasive development with the plans to destroy wetlands and habitat by dredging a lagoon, network of canals and excavating in the North Channel River would clearly have a devastating effect on the ecological system of the Lake Saint Clair region.

The qualities that make Harsens Island unique to all its surrounding communities should not be thought lightly of. Harsens Island is a gem to all in southeast Michigan and should be treasured and protected from over-development that would change the character of the island-just like Mackinac Island.

MARILYN CHATTEN
Utica, Oct. 29

TVT experiences highest traffic day following cancellation of Natural Resources Committee hearings

Following today's announcement that the House Committee on Natural Resources would not hear proposals for two off-reservation casinos planned for Michigan, TheVerifiableTruth.com (TVT) had some 550+ visits; creating the highest traffic count in a single day experienced by TVT since we first began publishing the blog almost one year ago (11.27.06).

Among those visiting the Web site today were readers from the Dykema Gossett and Dickinson Wright law firms, the Bay Mills Indian Community and various other tribes, Canadian Indian Claims Commission, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, U.S. House of Representatives, St. Clair County, U.S. Senate Seargant at Arms, Marketing Resource Group, Singer PR, Harrah's, Gannett, Ang Newspapers, various lobbying firms around D.C., Roll Call Newspaper, Detroit Media Partnership and hundreds of others from throughout Michigan and elsewhere in the U.S.

TVT's success this past year is due in no small part to the scores of individuals from across the country who have forwarded or confirmed "tips" and materials to us and the 20,275+ who've visited TheVerifiableTruth.com.

Speaker Pelosi asks that Port Huron casino bill be pulled

11.15.07

Casino proposals for Port Huron, Romulus on hold

By TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON – A couple of proposals to allow Indian casinos in Port Huron and Romulus are on hold again.

Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Detroit Democrat who opposes the legislation which would let Indian tribes open the new casinos, asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to intervene in today’s scheduled committee meeting on the bills, saying they should at least get a public hearing.

The speaker apparently did so and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall of West Virginia pulled the bills off his hearing list, saying there’s apparently “disagreements within the delegation” from Michigan.

Indeed there is.

A handful of House members – John Dingell of Dearborn, Bart Stupak of Menominee and Candice Miller of Harrison Township – are in favor of the legislation which would settle land claims by the Bay Mills and Sault Ste Marie tribes and put casinos in two cities which say they need them for economic development. Most of the rest are against it, including Kilpatrick and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers.

“The rest of us, we don’t want any other casinos in Michigan,” said Kilpatrick, who added that she believes she needs to protect the interests of Detroit’s three casinos as well.

The legislation could resurface after the first of the year.

“I’ll get it done,” said Stupak, a Democrat whose district includes the home area of the Bay Mills Indian Community. “I’ve been working on this for 10 years. I’ll get it done.”

Contact TODD SPANGLER at 202-906-8203 or at tspangler@freepress.com

Find this article at: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/NEWS06/71115053/-1/PRINT

Barwest quit claims property to partnership that has included Barstow Councilman's father and others

Documents available from the San Bernardino County Recorder indicate that on October 1, 2007, Detroit-based BarWest LLC quit claimed property to PGMC Investors LLC, a Barstow-based group of land speculators including Mr. Joseph Gee (Barstow developer and land speculator), Mr. Juan Mijares (former City of Barstow Engineer) and Mr. Terry Curran (father of Barstow City Councilman Steve Curran).

Records available from the Recorder also indicate that previously (January 24, 2006), PGMC Investors LLC had transferred the deed to Barwest for a parcel in Barstow which at that time carried the APN 0421-171-64 for an undisclosed amount of money.

Editorial questions Rep. Candice Miller's casino clout

The Port Huron Times Herald opined today:

Headline: Today's casino vote also a test for lawmaker

"Miller needs to show she won't be bullied by fellow Republicans

"Today's meeting of the House Natural Resources Committee isn't just a big deal for the backers of a Port Huron casino, it's an exam of sorts for U.S. Rep. Candice Miller.

"Her ability to get things done - her clout, if you will - is being put to the test."

Given that today's hearing was delayed one hour and that when the committee did finally convene, Chairman Nick Rahall announced that the agenda items dealing with off-reservation casinos in Michigan had been pulled and wouldn't be heard now until 2008 at the earliest; it would appear that the editors of the Port Huron Times Herald are now questioning Rep. Candice Miller's ability to get things done.

Bay Mills renews casino contract with Mike Malik through 2010

10.03.07

Tribe inks new deal with Blue Water Resorts, LLC

By Kalvin Perron
Staff Reporter

BAY MILLS - According to Bay Mills Indian Community Tribal Chairman Jeffrey Parker, the tribe and Blue Water Resorts, LLC have renewed their contract for a casino in Port Huron. The Bay Mills Executive Council approved the new arrangement on Monday, Sept. 24. The new contract will expire in 2010.

Parker said that the new contract is a consulting arrangement, whereas the previous one had been a management contract for five-years. Blue Water has been paying the monthly option on the property in Port Huron, the location of the Thomas Edison Inn, since 2002. Under the terms of the new contract Parker said the tribe would be able to pay back any money borrowed for the development of a casino in Port Huron in a 20 to 30 year time frame. Under the previous contract, the tribe would have had to pay back any money borrowed in five years, he added.

"Based on the compact we have, this could result in up to 48 million dollars for the tribe," Parker said. "There is a big difference between five years and 20 to 30."

Although the tribe recently signed a new contract, Parker is quick to point out that it does not mean a Port Huron casino is in the immediate future for Bay Mills. Because of the U.S. Trade and Intercourse Act, which states that tribes cannot dispose of property without an act of Congress, Parker said that Bay Mills would still need a settlement agreement with their land claim to Charlotte Beach to go through Congress.

But even though the odds of a settlement agreement making it through Congress unscathed may seem farfetched to some, Parker said recent developments have given him, and the tribe hope that it will happen soon.

"Senator Carl Levin has publicly supported our project," he said. "Levin, by virtue of his years of experience, gives some impetus to getting this done. We've now got both Senators from Michigan and both Congresspeople supporting this. That's something we've never had before."

And although he is excited that the tribe now has both Michigan Senators in Levin and Stabenow publicly supporting their project, Parker said Bay Mills would have never gotten this close to developing a casino in Port Huron had they not had the support of one certain member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Bart (Stupak) has been our champion all along," Parker said. "He has been very supportive, not just to the people in our tribe, but for the people in his district, for the benefit of everyone."

BREAKING NEWS: Rahall pulls off-reservation casino bills from agenda for today's Natural Resources Committee hearing

A highly anticipated House Natural Resources Committee hearing on bills that would allow two Michigan tribes to build off-reservation casinos far from their current reservation lands has been postponed until 2008 at the earliest. The start of today's hearing was delayed one hour.

Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, opened today's mark-up hearing, which had been delayed for one hour, by announcing the postponement of two agenda items dealing with:

• H.R. 2176 (Stupak): To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian Community.



• H.R. 4115 (Dingell): To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Chairman Rahall reported at the outset that today's meeting will be the last meeting for 2007; indicating, that at the earliest, the two off-reservation casino bills could be taken up in 2008.

Postponement of the hearing likely indicates that proponents of the two casino bills did not have the votes on the House Natural Resources Committee to move the bills out of committee. It may also signal concern among House leadership about rumored FBI investigations of Bay Mills Indian tribe's leader and federally funded plastics ventures.

Live WebCast scheduled of House hearing on Port Huron casino scheme

The Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a "full markup" hearing on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. The hearing is scheduled to be WebCast live. Two precedent setting bills that would allow for off-reservation Indian casinos in Michigan will be among those considered:

• H.R. 2176 (Stupak): To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Bay Mills Indian Community.



• H.R. 4115 (Dingell): To provide for and approve the settlement of certain land claims of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The committee hearing can be viewed on live simultaneous WebCast at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/. Click on the site's "view live WebCast" button in the left hand column or try the button we've provided below:

Interior to take distance and history into account when considering off-reservation gaming applications

11.13.07

Let the games begin
St. Regis sues Kempthorne; NIGC's 'bright line' between classes II and III

Tom Wanamaker / Indian Country Today

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Frustrated with continued delays in the processing of its application for a casino in New York's Catskill Mountains, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has filed a federal lawsuit against Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

The secretary, a former Republican governor of Idaho, is on record as opposing ''off-reservation'' casinos. The St. Regis application for a casino at Monticello has been ready since last February, and despite approval from New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Kempthorne has taken no action on it. Over the past several months, Mohawk leaders have repeatedly requested meetings with him; they have not been given the courtesy of an answer, much less a decision.

But we may have a clue as to Interior's future take on this supposed ''reservation shopping.'' On Oct. 1, Legal Times newspaper revealed the text of a letter sent to tribes with pending ''off-reservation'' casino applications by Interior Deputy Associate Secretary James Cason. In the letter, Legal Times reported that Cason said Interior is pondering a model ''where the likelihood of accepting off-reservation land into trust decreases with the distance the subject parcel is from the Tribe's established reservation or ancestral lands, and the majority of tribal members.'' [emphasis added]

Apparently geography matters. So the question now becomes: ''Will Interior take history into account?''

The ancestral Mohawk homeland lies along the majestic river that today bears the tribe's name. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, encroaching colonial settlers forced most Mohawks out of the area. Today, the tribe's sole American reservation is at Akwesasne, which sits along the St. Lawrence River, roughly 225 miles due north of Monticello as the crow flies. Other recognized bands of Mohawks reside in Ontario and Quebec.

But the ancestral Mohawk homeland lies only some 75 miles north of Monticello, one-third of the distance to Akwesasne. All ''off-reservation'' Indian casino applications are different, each with its merits and circumstances.

Cason's model should not be the sole deciding factor in the St. Regis application, or any application for that matter. But if it is going to play a role, Interior must take the historical displacement of tribes from their homelands into account. Many Indian nations, through no fault of their own, are today located on reservations distant from their original homes. If geography is to be a critical determinant in deciding the fate of a tribal casino, historical factors must carry equal or greater weight.

Proposed regulations

The National Indian Gaming Commission in late October issued a set of proposed regulations intended to clarify the distinction between Class II and Class III gaming machines.

The basic difference between the classes can be boiled down to whom the player is competing against. If the machine is linked to others and players play against each other, it's a Class II game. If the player is playing against the house, it's a Class III game. But the technological complexity of many new gaming devices; the fact that machines of different classes may appear to be identical, legal challenges regarding the classification of certain games; and confusion over whether a machine itself is the game or merely a tool through which to play the game has forced the need for a clearer demarcation between the two classes.

''These proposed standards will clarify the distinction between the technological aids tribes may use to play Class II games - bingo and the like - which may be utilized without compacts with their states, from that equipment used for the play of Class III games, such as slot machines, which may only be played when there is an approved tribal/state compact for that activity,'' said NIGC Chairman Philip Hogen in an Oct. 24 press release.

Hogen stressed the need for a clear distinction, a ''bright line,'' between the classes, citing disputes over technology that could challenge the ''dominant market position'' that many gaming tribes hold in Class II.

''Those challenges could come in the way of allegations that technology for Class II has gone beyond its limit,'' he said in the release. ''It could come as well by increased competition for this market where states expand their limits on bingo-type technology, if they see no meaningful constraints on tribal activity in this area.''

Of equal significance might be the potential impact on revenue sharing. Tribes offering Class III games must, of course, enter a tribal/state compact. Such compacts, more often than not, contain provisions for tribes to pay some percentage of their profits to the state that surrounds them.

But Class II gaming requires no tribal/state compact - tribes may offer Class II games free from state oversight and without revenue sharing. Thus anything perceived as weakening Class II and strengthening Class III gives gaming tribes the impression that state hands will sink deeper into their pocketbooks. Hogen said that the proposed rules should allay such fears.

''Bingo and Class II gaming is the bedrock upon which Indian gaming was built, and its integrity needs to be maintained,'' Hogen said. ''With the bright line that will be drawn when these regulations are finalized, tribes may confidently invest in equipment, lenders concerns over challenges in this area will be allayed, and tribes will have a clearer basis from which to negotiate with states for Class III compacts.''

To view the proposed regulations, visit www.nigc.gov. The regulator will accept public comments on them for 45 days after their publication in the Federal Register.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416079

Ilitch comments on relocation of Quicken Loans to downtown Detroit

as published 11.14.07 in the Grand Haven Tribune reporting on the announcement that Quicken Loans would relocate its 4,000 employees to a new headquarters in downtown Detroit:

Also attending the announcement was Mike Ilitch, Little Caesar Enterprises founder and chairman of Ilitch Holdings Inc. who also owns the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and baseball's Detroit Tigers. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick praised Ilitch for "leading the move back to the city."

"We're thrilled (Gilbert's) coming to downtown Detroit," Ilitch said. "It's going to create a lot of excitement for the future, and it will get other companies thinking Dan knows what he's doing.

"This is not a normal move — this is somebody who gets things done, thinks big and does big things."

The back story on the Port Huron casino proposal

11.14.07

Casino gets hearing in Congress
U.S. representatives spar over plans for Port Huron

By MIKE CONNELL
Times Herald

The 15-year effort to bring an Indian-owned casino to Port Huron faces a major test in Congress this week.

On Thursday, the House Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to debate a bill that eventually would turn the Edison Inn property into a 15-acre reservation owned by the Bay Mills Indian Community, a Chippewa tribe based in the eastern Upper Peninsula. (Full Story)

Jeff Parker, Bay Mills' plastics ventures rumored to be subject of FBI investigation

Several sources have contacted TheVerifiableTruth.com (TVT) to indicate that Mr. Jeff Parker, president of the Bay Mills Indian Community is under investigation by the FBI for white collar crimes associated with the various federally subsidized Bay Mills plastics enterprises.

Last year Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Carl Levin both annouced federal grants for the plastics enterprises totalling nearly $1 million. Both Stabenow and Levin are beneficiaries of political campaign funds contributed by Mr. Michael J. Malik and his frequent gaming partners Mike & Marian Ilitch. Malik reportedly "owns" 49% of the Bay Mills plastics enterprises.

For more than 15 years, Malik and members of the Ilitch Family have also backed plans for an off-reservation Bay Mills Indian casino 350 miles from the reservation in Port Huron, Michigan. The casino proposal is to be heard by the House of Representatives' Natural Resources Committee this coming Thursday (11/15). The tribe has two casinos on its Brimley, Michigan reservation.

It has been reported to TVT that during the recent Bay Mills Indian Community election cycle, Mr. Parker's opponents circulated flyers with details about the FBI investigation but TVT has not received copies of any such flyers.

Anyone with additional knowledge of this rumored FBI investigation, or possessing documents related to the investigation, or which can confirm or verify the investigation, is encouraged to contact TVT confidentially at allverifiable@gmail.com.

Compendium of posts regarding Bay Mills Indian Community's plastics ventures

The following are posts made previously to TVT related to the various plastics business enterprises (Integrated Composites LLC, Polycom Inc., Great Lakes Composite Institute, International Composites Institute of Michigan, etc.) involving Anthony Andary, the Bay Mills Indian Community, Jeff Parker and Michael J. Malik, Sr.:

• Jeff Parker, Bay Mills' plastics ventures rumored to be subject of FBI investigation
• BIA approves Bay Mills land-in-trust application for plastics venture
• Tribe to borrow $4 million to fund federal grant requirement, other investments in Plastics venture
• Tribe's chair reported two members were hired for its plastics business
• International Composite Institute of Michigan pitched to EUP Workforce Development Board
• Bay Mills plastics venture awarded $906k U.S. Commerce Dept. grant
• Bay Mills GTC ignored tribe members request for investigation into structure of plastics venture
• Gaming Tribe seeks to diversify while developer still pushing off-reservation casino
• Concerns raised about Malik & Bay Mills Tribe's Plastics Business long before $900k federal grant awarded
• Bay Mills & Malik get into Plastics; Senator Stabenow announces they'll get $900,000 federal jumpstart
• UPDATE: More Money (post election) to Sen. Stabenow brings total to $117,200 from Malik & the Ilitch Family
• Bay Mills Indians have received more than $35 million in federal grants since 2000

BIA approves Bay Mills land-in-trust application for plastics venture

3.21.07

BIA puts Bay Mills property into trust

Kalvin Perron
Staff Reporter

BRIMLEY - "This is something that doesn't happen very often," said an ecstatic Bay Mills Indian Community Tribal Chairman Jeffrey Parker after learning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had agreed to put 110-plus acres of tribally-owned property into trust. The site, located at M-28 and I-75, will be used for the construction of the Great Lakes Composites Institute. "Based on the circumstances, this is a very significant event," said Parker.

One of the circumstances Parker was referring to in that statement was how rare it is for the BIA to actually approve a tribe's land-into-trust application, even if they plan on using the land for non-gaming purposes. In addition to how rare they are granted, Parker said there are currently no timelines imposed on the BIA, which basically means they can take as long as they want to complete the application process. Applications can and do pile up on shelves collecting dust without so much as being glanced at and some tribes have even waited over a decade before ever receiving an answer, he added. What makes the event even more significant is the fact that non-gaming applications take the back burner to applications for gaming acquisitions, which the BIA currently has given a higher priority to.

Not wanting Bay Mills' land-into-trust application to suffer the same fate as some of the less fortunate tribes who were stuck waiting for a response from the BIA, Parker said he journeyed to the BIA's central office in Washington D.C. last fall to meet with the Associate Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior James E. Cason. At the meeting, Parker not only presented Cason with product samples from the Great Lakes Composites line, but he carefully laid out the business plan for the institute and explained how the tribe's current land base couldn't sustain an economic development of that magnitude.

At that meeting with Cason, Parker said as the BIA meticulously looked over the tribe's business plan and future plans for the 110-acre parcel of land, and were impressed with the fact that the tribe's proposed development wasn't focused on gaming. According to Parker, the tribe's sophisticated economic development plans, in a sector other than gaming, is ultimately what swayed the BIA to put the land into trust. He added that the overwhelming support Bay Mills received from the local community, most notably a resolution of support from the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners, was also a major factor in their decision.

"Other entities, outside of our own tribe, are looking at what we're doing and are impressed with the initiative we took and want to get involved," Parker said. "The bottom line is - the land went into trust because people believed in our project."

With Bay Mills already having received notification that they had received a $906,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration of the United States Department of Commerce for the construction of the Great Lakes Composites Institute, Parker said getting the land put into trust was the last major hurdle the tribe had to overcome to begin the project. With both out of the way, Parker said the groundbreaking for the 25,000 square-foot building would begin in the spring. If all goes according to plans, Parker said the structure should be completed by December.

NOTE: It was previously reported that Detroit-based casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr. owned 49% of the Bay Mills' plastics enterprises.

Sen. Reid says Bay Mills casino sets a very "dangerous" precedent

Media Matters for America presented a post 2.09.06 on Senator Harry Reid's previous opposition to the proposal for an off-reservation casino promoted by Michigan's Bay Mills Indian Community and its Detroit-casino syndicator partners Michael Malik and the Ilitch Family.

The post at Media matters followed an AP story published February 9, 2006 reported:

...Reid [Sen. Harry Reid]...went to the Senate floor to oppose fellow Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow's effort to win congressional approval for a Michigan casino for the Bay Mills Indians...

"The legislation is fundamentally flawed," Reid argued, successfully leading the opposition to Stabenow's proposal.

In fact, Reid said the legislation was flawed because it would allow the Bay Mills tribe to build an off-reservation casino "under the guise of settling a land claim." Reid's remarks from the 11.19.02 Congressional Record:

REID: [A]llowing a tribe to settle a land claim and receive trust land hundreds of miles from their reservation for the express purpose of establishing a gaming facility sets a very dangerous precedent.

This pursuit of off-reservation gaming operations should continue to follow the procedures outlined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Public Law 100-497, which authorizes tribal gaming operations on off-reservation ''after-acquired lands'' where the land to be acquired has no relationship to the land upon which the claim was based.

Let me say that the first gaming compact ever approved with an Indian tribe in the history of the country was done in Nevada. So it is not as if Nevada is here opposing this request. The first compact ever approved in the country was in Nevada. That is still an ongoing operation and a very successful one.

The proposed casino would be located just north of Detroit on a major link to Ontario that is in the lower corner of the lower peninsula. Bay Mills is located in the upper peninsula. The legislation is fundamentally flawed because it allows Bay Mills to establish gaming facilities under the guise of settling a land claim.

The land claim is simply -- and everybody knows this -- an excuse to take land into trust for off-reservation gaming. I object.

This position was entirely consistent with Reid's longtime opposition to off-reservation gambling. As early as 1988, Reid supported the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which generally prohibited Indian gaming on non-tribal lands. He proposed separate legislation in 1993 "prohibit[ing] states from opening gaming operations on off-reservation land" [AP, 5/28/93].

Saginaw Chippewa tribe and others oppose off-reservation casinos in Port Huron & Romulus

11.10.07

Casino legislation resurfaces
Tribes are seeking land for gambling houses

BY TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON -- Two proposed American Indian casinos -- one in Romulus, the other in Port Huron -- got new life Friday with federal legislation providing land for both suddenly reappearing in Congress.

They are sure to stir controversy.

With word Friday that the proposals were added to the list of legislation the House Natural Resources Committee is to consider next Thursday, a rival Indian tribe, the Saginaw Chippewa tribe that owns Soaring Eagle in Mt. Pleasant, was already knocking the plans down as illegal under federal law.

At the same time, at least one official in Romulus praised the economic help gambling houses might bring to the city.

"It's no secret the city has been interested in developing large-scale entertainment," said Tim Keyes, Romulus' economic development director.

In the past, the proposals -- which grew out of land-claim settlements made with the two tribes by then-Michigan Gov. John Engler in 2002 -- have seen plenty of opposition, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick among them. His position hasn't changed, a spokesman said.

The proposals were last seen three years ago when they died in the House committee.

Engler signed the deals to settle land claims made by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa and Bay Mills Indian Community on land in the Upper Peninsula, but they must be approved by Congress.

The deal described in the bill sponsored by Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat whose district includes Romulus, calls for the Sault Ste. Marie tribe to be given land there. Other legislation sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, a Menominee Democrat, and cosponsored by Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican whose district includes Port Huron, calls for the Bay Mills tribe to be given land in that city.

Both tribes run other casinos in Michigan and the Sault Ste. Marie tribe is a part owner of Detroit's Greektown Casino.

"This is encouraging news," Jeff Parker, tribal chairman for Bay Mills, said Friday.

Contact TODD SPANGLER at 202-906-8203 or at tspangler@freepress.com

Find this article at: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071110/NEWS07/711100312

House Committee to take up Bay Mills' Port Huron casino bill

11.10.07

Sault Tribe, Bay Mills may get new casinos

By Rick McGee

The possibility of two new Michigan casinos operated by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Bay Mills Indian Community will be debated by legislators in Washington next week.

On Thursday, the House’s Natural Resource Committee will consider bills to provide land for proposed casinos in Romulus near Detroit and Port Huron.

Efforts to establish gambling outlets in those communities gained strength in 2002 when then-Michigan governor John Engler signed land-claim agreements with the two Eastern Upper Peninsula tribes.

The deals still require approval by Congress.

One bill designed to move things forward is sponsored by Rep. John Dingell.

The Democrat wants Sault Tribe to be given land in Romulus, which is part of his district.

In December 2003, Romulus voters passed a proposal that affirmed support for construction of a casino to be run by Sault Tribe.

Besides operating Keewadin Casinos in five northern Michigan locations, Sault Tribe is a part-owner of Detroit’s Greektown Casino.

Meanwhile, Menominee Democrat Bart Stupak is sponsoring another bill to authorize a Bay Mills casino in Port Huron.

The cosponsor, Republican Candice Miller, provided support because her district includes Port Huron.

Under the 2002 land-claim agreement, the Bay Mills tribe agreed to withdraw its claim to 100 acres on the St. Marys River in exchange for a new reservation on the Thomas Edison Inn site in Port Huron.

The property would become a casino operated by the tribe.

Renewed interest in the two new casinos has resulted in strong opposition from other operators in the southern part of state

Ilitch pal Rep. Don Young has spent $450,000 on legal defense in last six months

11.11.07

MSNBC has reported that Congressman Don Young, a political pal of Detroit's Michael Malik and Mike & Marian Ilitch, is reportedly under investigation and has spent $450,000 on legal matters during the last six months:

...But with signs that the investigation is brushing against Alaska's lone congressman, Don Young (R), and its longtime and venerated senator, Ted Stevens (R), residents of the Last Frontier are experiencing a rare spasm of soul-searching.

"These disclosures have come as a real shock, because of revelations of what was going on, and because Alaskans have always felt that they are special," said Vic Fisher, 83, one of four surviving members of the convention that only a half-century ago wrote Alaska's state constitution. "And that this thing is ruining our national reputation."

Young, who has represented the nation's largest state in the U.S. House for 34 years, has not been named in the proceedings — yet he reports spending $450,000 on legal fees over the past six months. Veco, the oil-field services company that Allen owned, was Young's largest campaign contributor...