Engler expected to amend tribal compact to allow four new casinos

Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The agreement would allow casinos to open in New Buffalo, Mackinaw City, Manistee and south of Battle Creek, the Detroit Free Press reported in Thursday's editions.

All four would be managed by outside companies. The compact change must be approved by the Legislature.

The compact will also provide a new source of income for the state Renaissance Fund, used for urban renewal projects, the newspaper reported.

The seven Michigan tribes already operating casinos under a separate agreement are contributing about $30 million a year to the Renaissance Fund.

But the amended compact would let those tribes stop making payments if non-Indian casinos open. The tribes stopped making the payments after state voters last year approved a proposal for three Detroit casinos.

That would mean the four tribes involved in the new compact would be the only source of Renaissance Fund income, according to the Free Press.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this compact will pass the Legislature," said Frank Ettawageshik, chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, one of the four tribes.

But House Speaker Curtis Hertel, D-Detroit, said Democrats may hold up a vote until they're sure that the casino process is moving smoothly.

"There is reluctance in the House to support an extension of gaming elsewhere in the state until we clarify the situation in Detroit," he said.

The state has 18 Indian casinos operated by seven tribes, most of them in the Upper Peninsula. The state has sued those tribes, arguing they cannot withhold payments until casinos open in Detroit. A hearing on that suit was scheduled for Monday.