In Michigan, the Pokagon paid $19.4 million and local governments $6.1 million in 2016. A spokesman for Governor Eric Holcomb said it would be “premature” to say whether he would sign a compact with the Pokagon to allow for table games or how much revenue he would expect in return. As a result, the state will lose out on taxes that would go toward its general fund, economic development, State Fair Commission and Division of Mental Health.

Our stance has always been that we are supportive, provided that this can be set up in a way that this is a net win for the community.”Ĭurrently the tribe does not have a gaming compact with the state so it will not immediately offer live table games. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, “The tribe was in their rights to go forward with gaming with or without us. The Pokagon tribe has an agreement with South Bend to provide the city with $400,000 for water and sewer services, a maximum of $5 million toward community development over the next five years and 2 percent of the casino’s net win, or a minimum of $2 million, toward the city’s budget. Most of the infrastructure and most of the services that were built in the last 10 years is because of Four Winds.” And it’s just a success story from there. “It’s because of the Pokagon band’s tribal council and also advice and the wants and needs of our tribal citizens that we engaged in gaming. government pushed them west in the 1830s, and it also has allowed the tribe to provide health care and other services. Tribal Chairman John Warren said because of casino revenue, many members have been able to return to their ancestral homeland after the U.S. The tribe also owns Four Winds casinos in New Buffalo, Hartford and Dowagiac, Michigan. The new casino will drive economic development for the Pokagon tribe’s 5,000 members who live throughout southern Michigan and northern Indiana.

The rotunda will display the tribe’s native basketry and a continual fire will represent the Potawatomi’s ceremonial flames. The 175,000 square foot facility–the state’s first Native American casino–will offer 1,800 slot machines, restaurants, three bars, a coffee shop and retail outlets and provide 1,200 jobs. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ Four Winds Casino Resort will open in January in South Bend, Indiana.

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