La Crosse Tribune: Ho-Chunk want casino in La Crosse

The Ho-Chunk Nation has approached La Crosse officials about the possibility of opening a gambling casino here.

But Mayor John Medinger said Friday he had "very mixed feelings" about the idea. And state Rep. Mike Huebsch R-West Salem, said he plans to organize opponents.

Ho-Chunk officials did not return telephone calls from the Tribune Friday.

In an advisory referendum five years ago, La Crosse County voters rejected a proposal for the Lac du Flambeau tribe to open a casino at the former Holiday Inn by a 2-1 margin. The hotel complex more recently operated as the Yacht Club Resorts which closed in November. A court-appointed receiver is trying to sell the Yacht Club Resorts property, which Medinger and state legislators say apparently has been considered for a Ho-Chunk casino.

"I can tell you they (Ho-Chunk leaders) have not expressed interest to me, and they have made no offer to me," said Pete Rand of Welsh Companies in Minneapolis, which is the court-appointed receiver for the Yacht Club Resorts. "I have pursued them as a potential buyer," Rand said Friday. "They have given no positive response to me."

Medinger confirmed he has had two meetings with HoChunk representatives and said Yacht Club Resorts is among the sites the tribe has considered. "They were very, very preliminary discussions," Medinger said of the two meetings.

The Ho-Chunk representatives suggested they could give the city $2 million per year if the casino located in La Crosse, he said.

Between the two meetings, Medinger called a meeting with local business leaders to get their input. His last meeting with the Ho-Chunk representatives was three to four weeks ago, and they were scheduled to get back with him but have not, he said.

Medinger said he told the Ho-Chunk representatives "There is no way (a casino) would happen without a county referendum." He said he has talked to County Board Chairman James Ehrsam about the casino idea, and thinks Ehrsam feels the same way about a referendum. Ehrsam was not available for comment Friday. "I would never in my wildest dreams proceed without a referendum," Medinger said.

"I'm not going to be the cheerleader for this thing," he said. "I'm not sponsoring or opposing it, but when someone wants to create a lot of good jobs in your community, you better keep an open mind. I have very, very mixed feelings about this. The former mayor got very involved and burned badly. I do not intend to make my mark with the city of La Crosse on this issue. "

Medinger said the Ho-Chunk Nation also is familiar with the history of the 1995 effort, and does not want to repeat it.

"There's been no discussion with the state regarding the tribe pursuing a (casino) location in La Crosse," said Scott Scepaniak, administrator of the Division of Gaming within the state Department of Administration.

If the Ho-Chunk Nation wants to open a casino on an offreservation site, it must get the approval of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and then the approval of Gov. Tommy Thompson, Scepaniak said.

"The governor has made it very clear that, before he'll consider any off-reservation site, there needs to be some type of city and county resolutions" in favor of the idea, Scepaniak said. The state would not require a referendum, but a city or county could hold one, he said.

The state's compact with the Ho-Chunk Nation allows four casinos, but the tribe has only three, Scepaniak said. They are in Black River Falls, Nekoosa and Baraboo.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has not received an application from the Ho-Chunk Nation for a La Crosse casino, a BIA official said Friday.

"I just found out about this (casino idea) on Monday," Huebsch said Friday. "Since Monday, we've been mounting the same coalition to fight this one" as opposed the other casino project in 1995. He said he has contacted the state tavern league, and plans to contact local tavern officials and church leaders. Huebsch said he opposed the 1995 casino proposal.

"I intend to fight this one to the wall," Huebsch said. "The negative impacts of a casino are enormous." A casino would have a negative impact on taverns and restaurants in the entire Coulee Region, he said.

Huebsch said a casino also would have a "negative moral impact. With government-sanctioned gambling, I think we are clearly sending the wrong message to our children and to society as a whole.

"People talk about the income and sales taxes being regressive, but there's no worse tax on people than gambling," Huebsch said. "If you look at the people who gamble, it's not the wealthy, it's not the people who can afford it," Huebsch said. "More often, it's the person with a low or fixed income."

"Certainly (a Ho-Chunk casino in La Crosse) is speculation, and I want to keep an open mind until I hear all the details," said state Rep. Mark Meyer, D-La Crosse. "But generally speaking, I think we have enough gambling in Wisconsin and enough casinos."

Meyer also said if the Ho-Chunk Nation pursues a La Crosse casino, the federal and state approval process would take a long time.

"The whole BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) process, if it was done on the fast track, probably would take 18 months," he said.

"I'm not convinced that (a Ho-Chunk casino in La Crosse) can happen," said state Sen. Brian Rude, RCoon Valley. "The possibility of an off-reservation casino being established anywhere in the state is a long shot because of the number of steps that they have to go through. Secondly, I think the voters of this community have rejected this idea before. The voters of the state have, in fact, rejected expanding casino gambling," in an advisory referendum several years ago.

Rude said he would not like to see a casino in La Crosse. "I think first of all, making more gambling accessible to people who have a gambling problem is inviting more social trouble in your community," he said.

"And secondly, I think that casinos displace money from existing businesses," Rude said. "I think you would see restaurants and bars in the La Crosse area hurt by a casino, not helped. And if the casino had hotel space, I don't think it would benefit other hotels. (Casinos) become destinations but don't do a lot of promotion of tourism."