U.S. gives gambling pact the go-ahead

State's deal with Potawatomi stands, with a change in tribe's exclusivity

By STEVE SCHULTZE AND MEG JONES sschultze@journalsentinel.com

Monday, April 7, 2003

Federal officials agreed to the state's expansive new gambling deal with the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, but with a key change that will keep alive the possibility of an off-reservation American Indian casino in Kenosha.

The tribe still would increase its payments to the state by $78 million over the next two years, and plans for a $120 million expansion of its Milwaukee casino remain in place, Potawatomi spokesman Tom Krajewski said Sunday.

"They got 98 percent of what they were looking for," Krajewski said of the tribe.

Marc Marotta, administration secretary for Gov. Jim Doyle, said the action should help smooth the way for approval of similar agreements with Wisconsin's 10 other tribes. Doyle is counting on $237 million in additional casino payments from all 11 tribes to help plug the $3.2 billion hole in the next state budget.

Meeting its Sunday night deadline to review the Potawatomi deal, the U.S. Department of Interior agreed to allow the Potawatomi gambling compact to take effect, with two changes tribal and state officials termed minor.

The deal went through despite lobbying efforts by Republican lawmakers and owners of the Dairyland Greyhound Park racetrack in Kenosha, who had urged the Bush administration to kill the Potawatomi pact.

The revised version will take effect without any comment from the department, Krajewski and Marotta said.

Federal officials couldn't be reached Sunday.

According to Krajewski and Marotta:

The tribe no longer will have a "zone of exclusivity," which would have prevented other tribal casinos from being located within 50 miles of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee.

That change rekindles the prospects for a long-discussed off- reservation casino in Kenosha for the Menominee tribe. Then-Gov. Tommy G. Thompson laid the groundwork for such a plan before he left office in 2001, agreeing to allow a Kenosha casino for the Menominee tribe.

The zone of exclusivity initially negotiated for the Potawatomi would have precluded a Kenosha casino. Marotta said removing that clause will create an opportunity for the Potawatomi and Menominee to "work together on some off-reservation site."

He said Doyle's position on off-reservation casinos has been that he would consider proposals that don't benefit one tribe at the expense of another.

"We don't want to create divisions and schisms among the tribes," Marotta said.

Menominee Chairwoman Joan Delabreau could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.

Marotta said Doyle may discuss off-reservation casino proposals later, separately from the gambling compact renewals now under discussion with tribes.

The second change to the Potawatomi compact alters wording on allowing additional games but would have no immediate impact. Under the change, the Potawatomi still can add roulette, craps and various poker games.

The earlier version said the Potawatomi casinos could offer table games being played at any casino within 75 miles of the state border.

Republican lawmakers said they didn't want the addition of new games in other states or Canada to automatically permit the extra games at Wisconsin casinos.

The major objections of state lawmakers to the Potawatomi deal went unheeded by federal authorities, however. The permanent or perpetual term of the Potawatomi pact remains in place, with reviews possible on all compact terms in 25 years.

The tribes have made long-term compacts their top priority, saying current short-term gambling deals had made it difficult to obtain financing needed for expansions. Republican lawmakers have argued that open-ended compacts gave up too much to the tribes and will take away state leverage in case of future disputes over casino operations.

Legislative leaders filed a lawsuit last week, asking the state Supreme Court to void the Potawatomi deal and stop any new gambling agreements from taking effect. The Potawatomi deal, likely a template for the other tribes, violates a state constitutional amendment limiting gambling expansions, and illegally cuts out the Legislature, the Republican suit says.

Despite the Department of Interior's decision, Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo) vowed Republicans will continue their fight to scuttle the Potawatomi compact.

"There's some serious constitutional flaws with the Potawatomi compact," Gard said Sunday. "Hopefully, we can get those resolved and find more acceptable compacts."

Though he was not surprised to learn federal officials approved the Potawatomi agreement, Gard said, he was happy that the agency eliminated the compact provision that had given the tribe exclusive gaming rights within 50 miles of its casinos.

"I just thought it was tremendously unfair that one tribe would get exclusive rights to over half of the state's population," said Gard.

Craig Peterson, a spokesman for Dairyland, said the federal approval of expanded gambling for the Potawatomi tribe was disappointing.

The changes still mean "irreparable harm" to the Kenosha dog track, Peterson said. The track will continue to press its lawsuit claiming the Potawatomi deal violates a 1993 state constitutional ban on expanded gambling.

Copyright 2003 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.