Bernero to casino critics: ‘Don’t bet against Lansing!’

LANSING – An Upper Peninsula American Indian tribe’s plans for a $245 million, 125,000-square foot downtown casino have been on hold for over three years, but that hasn’t killed Mayor Virg Bernero’s enthusiasm for the project.

Despite an ongoing legal dispute with Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office, Bernero said Monday he’s confident The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will eventually open the Kewadin Lansing Casino adjacent to the Lansing Center.

The Sault Ste. Marie tribe is waiting for U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids to decide whether it has the legal right to pursue the project. The tribe applied with the U.S. Department of the Interior to have the casino site taken into trust.

“I’m getting very encouraging signs from Washington,” Bernero said in a text message. “I have never felt more confident of our success. Don’t bet against Lansing!”

Telephone messages left Monday with Department of Interior spokeswoman Nedra Darling to determine the tribe’s application status weren’t returned.

A hearing was held June 17 in Grand Rapids before Jonker to review a lawsuit Schuette’s office intends to pursue against individual tribal officials. Schuette sued in 2012 to stop the Sault Ste. Marie tribe from building the casino in Lansing. He argued the tribe has to get revenue-sharing agreements with other Michigan tribes before it can open.

Two Michigan Indian tribes, the Saginaw Chippewa and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, oppose the Sault Ste. Marie tribe’s Lansing casino because they claim the proposal violates the 1997 Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.

James Nye, a spokesman for the opposing tribes, said Lansing is no closer to a casino than nearly four years ago when Bernero first showed his support for it. Nye argues the Sault Ste. Marie tribe doesn’t have any valid legal footing to stand on because the Lansing property is hundreds of miles away from its reservation.

“It would be extraordinary for this to come to fruition,” Nye said. “It would upset the apple cart, not only for Michigan but across the United States. If (the Sault Ste. Marie tribe) can complete this application and have land taken into trust in Lansing, they could get land into trust anywhere.”

The Saginaw Chippewa tribe owns Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant; the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi owns FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek.

John Wernet, the Sault Ste. Marie tribe’s lawyer, anticipates Jonker’s ruling in Grand Rapids “any day now.” Wernet said that law contains a provision specific to the tribe that allows land to be held in trust if it’s purchased with interest or income from a particular tribal fund.

“We remain confident of our underlying legal theory and right of the tribe to pursue the project,” Wernet said.

Nye said he’s unaware of any timeline for Jonker’s decision and believes it could take months, possibly years before the legal dispute ends.

The Sault Ste. Marie tribe agreed in December not to stop the state from suing tribal leaders. In exchange, a federal judge dismissed four counts of Schuette’s lawsuit. Schuette’s office is awaiting the judge’s decision, and is then expected to determine if an appeal is necessary.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that tribes themselves are immune from lawsuits in a case involving the Upper Peninsula’s Bay Mills Indian Community and an off-reservation casino it opened in Vanderbilt. The court ruled that states instead can deny gaming licenses or file criminal charges against tribal or casino employees in the event a casino opens.

Under the casino proposal, the facility’s annual revenue payments to Lansing would help fund four-year college scholarships for Lansing School District graduates. In 2012, the city estimated the casino would generate about $6 million or more a year in revenue sharing.

The current Lansing Promise program gives scholarships equivalent to an associate’s degree (up to 60 credits) at Lansing Community College or $5,000 at Michigan State University.

“This is going to be transformational for Lansing and Lansing schools graduates,” Bernero said.

Plans for the casino, at Michigan Avenue and Cedar Street on property adjacent to the Lansing Center, would include up to 3,000 slot machines, 48 table games and several bars and restaurants. The project would also have two parking decks with about 2,900 spaces. Bernero expects the casino to create 1,500 permanent jobs, 700 construction jobs.

Contact Eric Lacy at (517) 377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.