The hotel at the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo from thisisemilyida / Instagram
The Forest County Potawatomi Tribe is withholding its gaming payment to the state in a dispute over the Menominee Nation off-reservation casino. The tribe was due to share 6.5 percent of the net win from Potawatomi Hotel & Casino on June 30. Based on calculations made by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the payment would have amounted to $25 million to $30 million. "Already, one of the tribal governments is withholding payments to the state and that is having a significant impact on the status of the state budget," Gov. Scott Walker (R) said in a letter to lawmakers who asked about the status of the Menominee Nation casino. The Menominees want to build a the $800 million off-reservation casino in Kenosha. The Potawatomis oppose the project -- their off-reservation casino is only about 40 miles away in Milwaukee. The Potawatomis did make a $5.28 million payment to the city and county of Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel reported. But the state's share will be tied up indefinitely due to "complicated provisions" in the Class III gaming compact, according to a memo that was attached to Walker's letter. "It appears the complicated provisions may have been designed to block a Kenosha casino," Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch wrote in the memo. On the other hand, Huebsch said the compact with the Ho-Chunk Nation was more straightforward. As a result, the state has reached an agreement to address the tribe's future revenue sharing payments should they be affected by the Menominee casino. "We estimate the Ho-Chunk Nation may be relieved of future revenue sharing payments a few years after a fully operational Kenosha casino opens," Huebsch wrote in the memo. The letter explains why Walker and his administration have taken more than than expected to make a decision on the Menominee casino. After being granted an extension, he has until February 2015 to respond to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “Needless to say, we are moving forward with legitimate caution as we cannot risk putting that size of a hole in the current and future state budgets," Walker wrote in the letter. "Therefore, we will take the appropriate time necessary to insure that we appropriately manage the finances of the state of Wisconsin.” Get the Story:
Potawatomi withhold $25 million payment to state (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 8/27)
Potawatomi Tribe withholds payment to state (AP 8/27)
Potawatomi doesn't make annual payment to state of Wisconsin (WISN 8/27)
Walker updates negotiations as Potawatomi withhold payment (Wisconsin Radio Network 8/27)
Potawatomi up ante against Kenosha casino (The Kenosha News 8/27)
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off-reservation casino (8/25) Menominee Nation remains confident with off-reservation casino (8/22)
Forest County Potawatomi Tribe sees drop in revenue at casino (8/15)
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