"State Attorney General Bill Schuette is suing the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe in federal court. The lawsuit, filed Friday, contends the Lansing casino violates federal law and the casino compact the tribe signed with the state.

The lawsuit’s key argument is the 1988 federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is at odds with Sault Ste. Marie’s intention to buy land for its casino. The act, the suit says, bans gambling on land taken into trust.

It’s important to note that Bay Mills, too, was sued by the state of Michigan in a similar case. After the tribe opened a Vanderbilt casino in November 2010, the state attorney general and The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians won a federal district court injunction that closed the facility.

The U.S. Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled last month, however, that the lower court that enforced the injunction lacked jurisdiction in the case. Although the decision doesn’t mean the Vanderbilt casino can reopen, for now, at least, the idea of Indian tribes buying off-reservation land for casinos isn’t dead.

Sault Ste. Marie and Bay Mills are pressing their cases for expanded casino gambling. So far, their bids are in play."

Get the Story:
Editorial: State takes new swipe at casinos (The Olean Times-Herald 9/12)

Also Today:
Attorney General Sues Over Lansing Casino Proposal (Interlochen Public Radio 9/11)

Related Stories:
Michigan sues Sault Tribe to block off-reservation casino plan (9/11)