Why Indian gaming should remain the only gaming in Minnesota

Why Indian gaming should remain
the only gaming in Minnesota
By The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
February 2010
Why we have Indian gaming
n According to federal law, our nation is composed of three sovereigns: the United States of America, the individual
states, and American Indian tribes. With tribal sovereignty comes certain unique rights, including the right to operate
casinos. When Indian gaming originated 20 years ago, the intent was to create jobs and boost the economy in outstate Minnesota. The State of Minnesota took pains to ensure that casinos would be confined to tribal lands and offer
limited types of games.
“Indian gaming was created to promote tribal self-sufficiency and
economic development in the regions around tribal casinos. The
gaming proposals before the Legislature in 2010 completely ignore
these needs, which are as real today as they have ever been.”
– Chief Executive Marge Anderson
Why gaming expansion is being considered
n The State of Minnesota needs money. Some private business people who want to profit from their own gaming
ventures have offered the state a portion of their earnings. Two of the proposed gaming ideas are racinos and slots in
bars.
Why gaming expansion is a bad idea
n Rather than create new jobs, racinos would relocate jobs from the rural communities to metro areas. Slots in bars
would not add any new jobs. The losers would be the Indians and non-Indians of rural Minnesota.
– Racinos: By allowing Canterbury Park and Running Aces to have slots, the Mille Lacs Band’s Grand Casino Mille
Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley would lose 40% of their revenues. When more racinos open in the state, the
damage will be even greater.
– Slots in bars: By allowing the state’s more than 3,000 bars and restaurants to operate slot machines, every part of
Minnesota would have gambling. Tribal casinos across the state – including Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand
Casino Hinckley – expect to lose 20% of their revenues as a result.
n Gaming is not a guaranteed revenue source. In today’s
challenging economy, casino revenues – like revenues in most
other industries – have dropped nationwide.
n Studies also show that Minnesota’s gaming market is saturated.
Neither racinos nor slots in bars can change a market that will not
grow.
The Band’s medical and dental clinics use casino revenue to
serve Band members in their home communities.
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Support tribal gaming, the enterprise we know that works
n Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley directly employ more than 2,800 people, of whom 91% are
non-Indian. These jobs were created with no financial assistance from state government.
“Good paying jobs with benefits are already hard to find in rural
Minnesota. Without the reliable jobs that both Grand Casino Mille Lacs
and Grand Casino Hinckley provide, people in this area would have
extreme difficulty finding comparable employment if gaming
expansion is approved. The impacts that major unemployment would
have to the rural communities we touch has significant implications.”
– Angela Heikes, Vice President of Gaming Analysis and Planning
n More than 3,500 people are covered by Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley health insurance
plans.
n The Mille Lacs Band taxes its casinos at 100% and uses the revenue to fund health care, education, and economic
development efforts that benefit Band members and surrounding communities. This has saved the state and
federal governments millions of dollars.
n Harming Grand Casinos would also harm hundreds of their vendors, local businesses that rely on the casinos for
visitor traffic, and nonprofits that benefit from casino donations.
“Grand Casino Hinckley has helped our city attract new
businesses, new residents, and new visitors. The opportunities
created by the casino are a important part of our city’s continued
growth.”
– Don Zeman, Mayor of Hinckley
Band Elders take pride in passing on their wisdom and
culture to the younger generations. In making
decisions that affect its members, the Band operates
under the philosophy of planning seven generations
ahead.
Casino revenues help the Mille Lacs Band provide college scholarships to its
members, and operate schools that incorporate the Ojibwe language and culture
into their curricula.