Gaming briefs for September 17, 2004

Friday, Sept. 17, 2004 | 11 a.m.

Leech Lake will push for casino

ST. PAUL -- Officials of the 9,000-member Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe said Thursday they would join two other northern Minnesota tribes in trying to establish a Twin Cities-area casino.

Leech Lake previously had opposed the plan that would financially benefit the state and the three tribes.

But a new administration had different thoughts on the subject, said newly elected tribal Chairman George Googleye.

"We at Leech Lake are one of the tribes in northern Minnesota that are disadvantaged because of the size of our tribe," he said.

The three bands will pool resources to lobby for the legislation in the upcoming session, Googleye said.

The bill, as written last session, would put a casino in the northern Twin Cities suburbs. About $90 million would go to the state's general treasury, $120 million to the state lottery to help promote the facility and $65 million annually to each of the two northwestern Minnesota Indian bands.

LOUISIANA

Pinnacle wants more time

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. has asked state gambling regulators to give it a 60-day extension on the opening date of its riverboat casino-hotel in Lake Charles.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board will consider the request next month.

Board Chairman Charles Gaudin said this week that he wanted to give state police and the attorney general time to review Pinnacle's need for the delay.

Pinnacle has said the opening date for its $365 million casino resort in Lake Charles is set for March 5, 2004. Under the 60-day extension, the opening date would most likely be in April, company officials said.

Company officials said the additional time is needed because the project has been expanded, first from $325 million and then to $365 million. In addition to a dockside gambling boat, the project includes a hotel and a golf course.

Pinnacle will compete in the market with four riverboats, a slot-machine casino at the Delta Downs race track in Vinton and an Indian reservation casino at Kinder. The company is using the 15th and final riverboat casino license allowed by state law.