The Gun Lake Tribe of Potowatomis has announced that spring revenue sharing payments are down slightly from six months ago because the Coronavirus shut down the casino in March.
The facility is scheduled to reopen Monday morning, June 8. It was closed March 16, and when it reopens next Monday there will be limited slot machines and table games to adhere to social distancing and other safety plans. Non-gaming amenities such as the Harvest Buffet will remain closed until further notice.
The loss of revenue has negatively impacted the Tribe, its employees, and many local municipalities.
In the latest payment, the State of Michigan received $4,419,006 and the local revenue sharing board received $2,209,503. The payment distributed last December included $5,613,249 for the State of Michigan and the local revenue sharing board, $2,384,933.
“This is the most important revenue sharing distribution we have ever made because it comes at a time when all units of government are dealing with terrible financial impacts due to the global pandemic,” said Bob Peters, chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe. “The next revenue sharing distribution will suffer a dramatic loss due to the casino closure, followed by limited operations upon reopening.”
Revenue sharing payments are made twice a year as part of the tribe’s compact with state and local governments.
The City of Wayland and the townships of Dorr, Leighton, Hopkins and Martin six months ago each received checks for about $19,000.The figures are calculated from electronic gaming revenues reported this past year from Oct. 1 through March 31.
The tribe recently commissioned an economic impact study that revealed the tribal government, Gun Lake Casino and other subsidiaries contributed $1.5 billion to Michigan’s economy in the first seven years of gaming operations. In total, the tribe employs nearly 1,300 people in the government, business and investment operations.
The tribe’s annual direct payroll is over $48 million. Another $36 million is spent by the Tribe annually on goods and services that are purchased from Michigan-based companies.
The tribe has now shared more than $95 million with the State of Michigan, which directs the payments to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The MEDC in turn awards grants to businesses to invest in Michigan and create jobs.
The tribe’s state revenue sharing payments depend on the continued preservation of exclusive gaming rights within its competitive market area, as defined by the tribal-state gaming compact, which also includes statewide expansion of certain lottery games. The market area includes the cities of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing, as well as the entire counties of Kent, Kalamazoo and Ingham, among others.
The Local Revenue Sharing Board receives and administers the semi-annual payments.
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