|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
April 6, 2005Bands to withhold revenue-sharing payments in Club Keno disputeByRecord-Eagle business editor TRAVERSE CITY - Millions in gambling profits at two area Indian casinos are at stake in a dispute headed to federal court over the state's Club Keno lottery game. Officials with the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Petoskey said Tuesday the state will sue them over their decision to withhold revenue-sharing payments that help fund Michigan's economic development efforts. The tribes allege the state lottery's Club Keno game violates an exclusivity clause in their 1998 state gaming compacts that limits "electronic games of chance" or "commercial casino games" to the three state-approved casinos in Detroit or authorized Indian casinos. The compacts require the bands to pay 8 percent of their electronic gaming profits to the state twice a year. The tribes argue the Keno game - offered at almost 3,000 bars and restaurants across the state - is a "commercial casino game" that violates the compact. "We believe that with the advent of Club Keno ... we would no longer be obligated to make the 8 percent payment," said Frank Ettwageshik, Little Traverse Bay Bands tribal chairman. "The state, of course, believes we are." State officials say the dispute is "pinching" their ability to fund various economic development programs because the revenue-sharing money is used by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Michael Shore, the MEDC's vice president of communications, said revenue-sharing money from the two tribes makes up 8 percent of the MEDC's $135 million annual budget. "Yeah, we could certainly use it," Shore said. "No one's been laid off or anything (because of the dispute), but we'd rather not be in this bind." Tribal officials said several meetings with state officials failed to resolve the dispute, and both tribal councils recently waived any legal immunity so the state could take the issue to U.S. District Court. The state's lawsuit is expected within the next few weeks, a tribal attorney said. State officials hoped for a quick resolution to the issue. "Neither the state nor the tribes want a long, drawn-out dispute," Shore said. "There's no facts at issue - it's a question of how you read the compact." The dispute does not affect the tribes' 2 percent local payouts, which a tribal attorney said are not tied to any exclusivity clauses. Little River Band public information director Glenn Zaring said the band has paid the 8 percent payments into an escrow account since May. The account totals about $9 million. The Little Traverse Bay Bands started setting aside its revenue-sharing payments in August, but Ettawageshik didn't know Tuesday how much is escrowed there. The Manistee and Petoskey bands were among four Michigan Indian tribes that received gaming compacts from the state Legislature in 1998 negotiated by former Gov. John Engler. The compacts were later challenged by an anti-casino group but were upheld in court. The other two tribes, in Battle Creek and New Buffalo, are not involved in the Keno dispute.
|
|
