{"id":204635,"date":"2022-03-09T13:52:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T21:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=204635"},"modified":"2022-03-09T14:40:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T22:40:49","slug":"little-river-band-casino-project-asks-for-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/little-river-band-casino-project-asks-for-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-backing\/","title":{"rendered":"Little River Band Casino Project Asks For Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Backing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Supporters of a Michigan casino proposed by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians are asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer not to leave them hanging.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_204636\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-204636\" data-style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-204636 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/whitmer2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Gretchen Whitmer\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/whitmer2-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/whitmer2-1-858x483.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/whitmer2-1-430x242.jpg 430w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-204636\"class=\"text-description\">Michigan\u2019s Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer is keeping her cards close to her chest on the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians casino issue. (Image: WXYZ)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The project, earmarked for the former Great Lake\u2019s Downs Race Track near Fruitport, Muskegon County, is one governor\u2019s signature away from becoming a reality. It was approved by the federal government in December 2020 and is \u201cshovel ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the governor is proving tough to read. A deadline for Whitmer to make a decision passed in December after she applied for a one-time, six-month extension. The new deadline is June 16 this year.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Whitmer has not uttered a word about the project, offering no indication as to whether she supports or opposes it.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Twelve-Year Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>State Sen. Jon Bumstead (R-Newaygo) this week beseeched the governor to greenlight the casino, or at least put everyone out of their misery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Little River Band of Ottawa Indians\u2019 casino is a major job-creating project that will attract visitors to the region,\u201d Bumstead said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p><strong>Estimates indicate the project will create 1,500 construction jobs and 1,500 high-paying full-time jobs \u2026 There\u2019s nothing holding the governor back from saying yes,\u201d <\/strong>said Bumstead in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The tribe has been chasing the project for 12 years, and spent ten years undertaking extensive environmental analysis before the federal government agreed to take the land into trust.<\/p>\n<p>Normally, a governor\u2019s approval is not required for a tribe to organize gaming on trust land after federal approval. But this case is slightly different.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u2018Two-Part Determination\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) generally prohibits gaming on lands acquired by tribes after October 7, 1988, the date of the legislation\u2019s enactment. But there are several exceptions, such as when lands are restored for a newly recognized tribe, or they are recovered as part of a land claims settlement.<\/p>\n<p>Another is known as the \u201ctwo-part determination,\u201d which has been applied in this case. This is where the federal government determines that a casino on trust lands would be in the best interests of the tribe and that it would not be detrimental to the surrounding community.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p><strong>The project has overwhelming backing from the local community. But the two-part determination is the only instance where a state governor has the power to call the whole thing off.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The proposed $180 million casino is expected to draw more than 1.8 million visitors per year, while attracting large conventions to the Muskegon area. It will generate an expected $15 million for the state, plus millions more to local governments, and an estimated $1.5 million a year to local charities.<\/p>\n<p>The Little River Band is itching to break ground, but its plans remain in limbo for now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporters of a Michigan casino proposed by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians are asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer not to leave them hanging. The project, earmarked for the former Great Lake\u2019s Downs Race Track near Fruitport, Muskegon County, is one governor\u2019s signature away from becoming a reality. It was approved by the federal government [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":204636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Calls for Michigan Gov. Whitmer to Approve Little River Band Casino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Little River Band of Ottawa Indians casino in Michigan\u2019s Muskegon County is in limbo, pending Gov. 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Gretchen Whitmer\u2019s decision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/little-river-band-casino-project-asks-for-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-backing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-09T21:52:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-09T22:40:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/whitmer2-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/little-river-band-casino-project-asks-for-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-backing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/little-river-band-casino-project-asks-for-michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-backing\/\",\"name\":\"Calls for Michigan Gov. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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