Ilitch team out in full force with New York Casino gambling partner

Key members of Team Ilitch Gambling (Marian Ilitch's partner Michael J. Malik, Sr., and one of their senior Indian gaming attorneys R. Lance Boldrey of the Dykema Gossett firm) were out in full force with tribal leaders representing their New York casino development partner the Shinnecock Indian Nation at a 2009 New York Gaming Conference held in Sarasota Springs last week.

In an article published 7.01.09, "Shinnecocks still face obstacles in casino bid," Michael Wright in The Southampton Press reports:

At a gaming industry conference in Saratoga Springs last week, a host of industry veterans and members of other Native American tribes from around the state said—often with wry smiles—that they’re not holding their breath for a Shinnecock casino to open. Nonetheless, the tribe and its prospects for a casino on Long Island, or in the shadow of New York City, were a popular topic of conversation.

The tribe sent a 10-member contingent to the New York Gaming Summit, including Michael Malick [sic], co-owner of the Detroit-based casino development company [Gateway Casino Resorts] that has been funding the tribe’s legal battles over its gaming future since 2003. Also at the conference were the five salaried members of the tribe’s gaming authority, Tribal Trustee Fred Bess, former Trustee Lance Gumbs—who has been the most vocal member of the tribe in the casino effort—and at least two of the tribe’s attorneys.

In his keynote speech at the two-day conference, John D. Sabini, chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, focused on the Shinnecock casino bid, and the speculation the court settlement spawned. And in his remarks he seemed to warn the Shinnecocks that other tribal and private gaming prospects have seemed imminent in the past, and ended up languishing for decades.

The article featured these photos in a related image gallery:

Shinnecock Tribal Trustee Fred Bess (right) and Michael Malik (left) the controversial Detroit-based casino syndicator who along with Mrs. Marian Ilitch has reportedly formed the syndication, Gateway Casino Resorts, that's been bankrolling the tribe's drive for a casino since 2003.

Lance Boldrey (center) an attorney with the Michigan-based Dykema Gossett law firm and who represents various Detroit-based Indian gambling affiliates of partners Marian Ilitch and Michael Malik, chats with Shinnecock Tribal Trustee Lance Gumbs (left) and John D. Sabini, chairman of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.