Casino Stalker

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community revives off-reservation casino

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community owns about 50 acres at the site of the former Marquette County Airport in Michigan. Image from Google Maps

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is making another shot at an off-reservation casino.

The tribe secured approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to relocate the Ojibwa Casino in Marquette to a site that's actually closer to the reservation. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) refused to agree but the tribe is asking him to reconsider.

According to news reports, the tribe wants to know whether Snyder -- who has been under intense political pressure because of the water crisis in Flint -- will agree before embarking on an expansion project at its second casino in Baraga. The tribe says moving the Marquette casino to the site of a former airport would generate more jobs and revenues for the region.

The tribe is pursuing the project under the two-part determination provisions of theIndian Gaming Regulatory Act. The law requires the state governor to approve certain off-reservation casinos.

Since IGRA became law in 1988, only three tribes have opened casinos after completing both steps of the process. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community won approval for the casino in Marquette in 2000.

Get the Story:
KBIC still pursuing airport casino project (The Marquette Mining Journal 4/19)
Community asks governor to reconsider project ((ABC 4/19)
KBIC appeals to Snyder regarding plans for old Marquette County Airport property (WLUC 4/18)