The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community owns and operates the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Photo from Facebook
Tribal gaming contributed $1.8 billion to the economy in Minnesota last year, according to a report from the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. Tribal casinos and related businesses employ more than 15,000 people, according to the report. The employees earned more than $500 million in wages and paid about $126 million in taxes in 2015, the report stated. But the effects of gaming are felt elsewhere, the report stated. Tribes made more than $717 million in purchases last year and attracted nearly 23 million people to the state in 2015, according to the economic study. "Indian gaming has given Minnesota’s 11 sovereign Tribal Nations a means to improve the lives of their people, foster economic development and strengthen self- government," the report stated. "It has helped tribes begin to reverse extreme poverty, provide for tribal members’ health and education, preserve Native cultures and achieve important goals that were previously unattainable. Indian gaming has also strengthened local economies by providing jobs, supporting local vendors, boosting tourism, and generating new tax revenues." The 11 tribes operate 19 gaming facilities in several regions of Minnesota. Four are considered "urban" because they lie within 75 miles of the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. The rest are considered "rural." Read More on the Story:
Casinos boost Minnesota's entire economy, tribal report says (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 9/15)
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