Gov. Scott Walker is continuing to review the third of three criteria in the off-reservation Menominee casino proposal, which requires the casino would not contribute to an increase in gaming in the state, according to a press release Friday.
Walker can weigh his veto power under legislation outlining requirements to establish a casino outside reservation borders. Walker established three criteria for state casino applications in 2011, the first and second of which are community support and consensus among 11 tribal governments.
The Menominee tribe casino would not create an increase in the amount of gaming in the state because the casino would replace a former greyhound track and close one existing casino, which would result in the same level of gaming, according to Menominee Tribal Chairman Craig Corn in a press release Friday.
The Forest County Potawatomi Community released a statement Friday saying the casino fails to meet the no increase in net gambling requirement because the proposed casino is significantly larger than the casino that would shut down.
“How does closing a northern Wisconsin out-of-the-way convenience store with 30 slots and opening a mega casino with over 3,000 slots not constitute an increase in gambling?” Forest County Potawatomi Community Attorney General Jeff Crawford said in the statement.
Walker said in the release one of the issues he and his team are weighing is whether or not replacing the dog track that earned between $20 and $25 million in revenues with a 3,100-slot machine casino expected to generate $454 million in revenues constitutes an increase in net gaming.
Walker did not indicate in the press release when he would make his final decision on the casino.
