Column: Supreme Court rolls the dice on Indian gaming dispute

Let's be clear, Monday’s showdown did not need to happen.

After losing the appeal in Cincinnati, the attorney general took it on the chin again when the U.S. solicitor general, who represents the interests of the American people, concluded the 6th Circuit got it right.

At that point, Schuette could have reached out to Bay Mills for a face-saving settlement. Working with Gov. Rick Snyder, a fellow Republican, he might have offered Bay Mills the prize it has sought for 20 years — a casino in Port Huron — to make the larger legal issues go away.

Instead of seeking a compromise, Schuette chose to continue the fight, putting the dispute in the hands of nine justices who are anything but predictable. (The same court that produced Citizens United signed off on Obamacare. Go figure.)

The nine are expected to announce a decision in April. Where they go with it is anyone’s guess, but chances are good there will be a big loser — either the 10 million people of Michigan, who stand to lose any meaningful control of the gambling business, or the country’s 5.2 million Native Americans, who could surrender a large slice of what little remains of their independence.