{image1} A casino could be operating out of Kenosha's Dairyland Greyhound Park within two years, says the key figure in developing the facility for the Menominee tribe.
Dennis Troha, head of the Kenesah Gaming Development, says, "If I had to roll the dice, my prediction would be 24 to 30 months."
But a spokesman for the Potawatomi tribe that operates the Milwaukee casino indicates that tribe would likely fight such a casino less than a half-hour south. "The Potawatomi has made it quite clear that they are committed to exhausting every effort to protect Milwaukee and the tribal investment," says Ken Walsh, a tribal spokesman. The tribe made a late run at thwarting last year's advisory referendum, but the referendum passed.
"They have not ruled anything out," Walsh says of possible litigation against such a Kenosha facility.
Troha, who is the head developer of the project for the tribe, says a lawsuit is one thing that could delay the opening of the casino. But he is hoping to avoid such a clash. "We remain hopeful that the Potawatomi and Menominee tribes can reach some kind of understanding, and there isn't any litigation," Troha says.
Litigation wouldn't be good for Potawatomi, Menominee or even Kenosha. "But, of course, when you have competition, they would like to avoid competition in their market because they never know what will happen," he says. "Yet I hope that the Potawatomi don't stand in the way of the needs of the Menominee, which are great. The Potawatomi are being well served off of their project in Milwaukee. The Menominee need this project, and the Kenosha area needs this project."
Troha adds, "If the Potawatomi looks for a site in downtown Milwaukee, they have to go through the same process, if that is a good move for them. I don't think the Menominee would object to that, and we hope the Potawatomi don't object to the Kenosha site."
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is already reviewing the Kenosha plan, Troha says. He hopes that process will be completed sometime this summer. "When we made the business plan last June, we predicted we would be working a year from now on the temporary casino," he says. "But it all depends on the process."
The environmental impact statement has been filed, and there will be hearings on that document, Troha says. "If BIA feels it should, they could make a decision this summer. But that's very aggressive. Then something could proceed with the U.S. Department of the Interior on whether this land should be taken into trust. After that is when it would move to the governor's desk for decision."
Troha says the group already has plans in place to use part of the existing Dairyland facility temporarily if approval were given. Then the tribe, with the operating advice of the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut, would begin construction on a 100,000-square-foot casino with a 5,000-seat auditorium. The Dairyland area will "probably handle a minimum of 1,000 machines and 50 (blackjack) tables," Troha says. "My guess is it will be higher than that."
There would also be a 400-room hotel constructed with a 60,000-square-foot conference center. "We would be ready to go unless somebody litigates and slows down this whole process, which would be a shame because of all the jobs this would develop," he says.
Troha says the governor should bear in mind that the casino passed in a city referendum in 1998 and a countywide referendum in 2002, in each case by margins of 56 percent to 44 percent. "The project will provide several thousand, much-needed, all-union construction jobs" for a period of about 30 months, Troha says, adding there will be about 3,000 employees working on site once the casino is constructed.
The casino is also expected to make payments in lieu of taxes, because the trust land cannot be formally taxed by the county or municipality. Troha says that would amount to around $521 million to the city, county and school system over the first two decades of operation. But all of those benefits for Kenosha don't mean much in Milwaukee. A study released last month by the Potawatomi says a Kenosha casino could cost the Milwaukee economy as much as $1 billion in jobs, tourism and local government revenue lost to the 223-acre Dairyland project because of lost customers.
The study, presented to the Milwaukee City Council by the tribe and several other Milwaukee civic groups, estimated revenues at the Milwaukee site would fall by about 33 percent if the Dairyland casino were to be constructed. That was equated to a cut in 1,125 jobs at the casino and nearly 2,000 jobs total throughout Milwaukee. Walsh adds that "millions of dollars would be leaving Wisconsin and go to Connecticut," where the Mohegans run a huge casino. He also says the deal should not provide Troha with a huge benefit as developer, as he is not a Native American.
Walsh adds that most of the employees at a Kenosha casino would probably be from Illinois and therefore offer little economic benefit for Wisconsin.
The Potawatomi waged an active and expensive campaign in Kenosha last November to try to get voters to vote against the casino, but the vote ended up overwhelmingly endorsing the plan. Instead of that being the end of the fight that might end up being just the first salvo in what could become an even more expensive and bitter high-stakes battle for gambling in southeastern Wisconsin.
Shook is the government/political reporter for the Waukesha Freeman.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.
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