The results of a $76 million expansion project at the Gun Lake Casino will be unveiled Wednesday, May 3, by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe.
The project is the first major upgrade at casino since it opened in 2011, despite determined legal efforts to halt its existence. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision next month on Patchak v. Zinke, which challenges the legitimacy of the casino site.
The web site Indianz.com reported, “David Patchak, a non-Indian man who lives three miles from the casino, sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs nearly a decade ago in hopes of derailing its opening. Although he wasn’t successful in that effort, he’s still trying to keep the case alive with his petition to the nation’s highest court.
“But the tribe and the Trump Administration, which inherited the lawsuit in January, are hoping the justices see through the effort. Although the court, with its 2012 decision Salazar v. Patchak, allowed Patchak to proceed with the case, Congress stepped in by passing S.1603, the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act.”
The act, signed in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, confirms the casino site is in trust and can’t be challenged in court.
Patchak nonetheless refused to drop the case and his legal team eventually acknowledged he is seeking monetary recompense from the tribe or the federal government. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the validity of the new law in July 2016.
If judges reject the petition, it would give the tribe yet another victory in legal squabbles as it welcomes the public to the casino Wednesday.
Tribal officials say the project consists of a 73,000-square-foot expansion, resulting in a facility that’s nearly double the size of the one that opened Feb. 10, 2011. There’s also a 300-seat multi-station buffet and a larger entertainment stage, along with space for more gaming machines and table games.
The tribe broke ground on the newest project in early 2016 and said construction activities since have supported 300 to 400 jobs. Another 100 or so employees have since been hired to work at the casino, resulting in more than 900 total team members, they added.
The tribe has shared $88.6 million in gaming revenues with the state and local governments over the six years. A dispute over the state’s portion resulted in a partial settlement last July and the portion allocated to local communities has not been affected.