Gun Lake Tribe hopes new casino will improve lives for its people

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, is getting ready to open its first casino.

Chairman D.K. Sprague has spent most of his life in his tribe's community. He hopes the Gun Lake Casino will bring back others who moved away.

“Folks have left the area for jobs, they moved to the big cities, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo,” Sprague told WMMT-TV. “We just want these people to come back and work for the tribe, or work for the casino.”

The tribe plans to use gaming revenues for housing and other services. “It just means we are going to be self-sufficient,” housing director Melissa Brown told WMMT-TV. “We are no longer going to be reliant on the federal government for the needs we have.”

The casino will open in mid-February.

Get the Story:
Tribe hopes casino brings back tribal members (WWMT-TV 1/13)
Gun Lake Casino close to opening (WZZM-TV 1/13)

Related Stories:
Gun Lake Tribe receives first shipment of slot machines for casino (12/7)
Gun Lake Tribe cuts off applications for most positions at casino (11/30)
More than 2000 file online applications for Gun Lake casino jobs (10/26)
Gun Lake Tribe plans to hire at least 700 people for first casino (10/14)