New Chippewa Indian community center is nearing completion at Saganing, Arenac County. New Chippewa Casino Said Set to Open Dec. 1 at Saganing, Arenac County
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A new casino of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is reportedly set to open by Dec. 1 at Saganing, Arenac County, according to usually reliable sources.
The casino is said to be part of a tribal community center on Worth Road across from the Saganing Indian Church. It is about 30 miles from Bay City near White's Beach on Saginaw Bay.
Although gaming activity is permitted by law on tribal lands since tribes are considered sovereign nations, the question of whether state approval is required for slot machines and other gaming at this particular site is presently unclear.
The tribe has been unusually quiet about the new Saganing Center; no news releases or information about the project has been released or posted on the tribal website, www.sagchip.org.
(See MyBayCity.com local news archive, Dec. 25, 2005, "Rumors Persist About Casino Or Resort at White's Beach, Arenac County.")
The Saganing Reservation is considered a part of the Mt. Pleasant reserve, granted under federal treaty in 1855. Besides two townships in Arenac, the tribe received six townships in Isabella County by terms of the treaty. Much of the land has fallen into hands of white settlers over the years but the tribe is suing the state in U.S. District Court in Bay City to have all the lands in the original grant restored to the tribe. Property involved amounts to about one third of Isabella County, including half the city of Mt. Pleasant.
At Saganing, contracting crews were working on the parking lot at the rustic log building late Sunday and construction appeared near completion.
Sources indicated the casino has been in planning stages for some time. It allegedly is intended to create revenue for the small branch of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River band at the Saganing reserve. Some 43 tribal members occupy about 350 acres of trust land at Saganing.
In recent years the tribe spent $96,000 to acquire about 90 acres of additional land near the site, which includes frontage on Saginaw Bay. Ideas bantered about include a golf course and waterfront resort to complement what will certainly be an expanding complex as the casino business grows, if it is a reality.
A similar process was followed at the Mt. Pleasant reserve; first a bingo hall, then a few slot machines, then a bonanza. The Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort is estimated to gross about $600 million a year.
No news release has been issued either by the tribe or the state gaming commission regarding the activities to be conducted at the Saganing Outreach Center.
The expansion of gaming in Michigan has paralleled national social trends. Parimutuel horse racing was legalized in 1933, followed by the legalization of a state lottery in 1972 and growth of gaming activity on Indian reservations in the 1980s. By the end of 1996, seven Indian tribes were operating 17 casinos in Michigan.
Passage of Proposal E in the November 1996 general election. Proposal E enacted the Michigan Gaming Control & Revenue Act (the "Act") by public referendum. The Act permitted the development and licensing of three privately owned casinos in Detroit.
At Saganing, work also is underway to take a bend out of State Road just north of Worth Road and it is assumed the road construction is related to the need to improve traffic flow that surely will increase on the route to the casino.
Native American tribes are sovereign nations. As such, the State of Michigan does not have general regulatory authority over Indian casinos, although the State does have oversight authority over compliance with the State-Tribal Compact provisions. They are regulated by the National Indian Gaming Commission and the government of the appropriate tribal community.
Tribal-State Gaming agreements between the tribal communities and the State signed by the Governor give the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) staff oversight responsibility for the state's Native American casinos. This responsibility, originally assigned to the Michigan Department of Agriculture's Office of Racing Commissioner, was transferred to the MGCB staff in June 1997.
Oversight responsibility by MGCB staff is limited to:
Inspecting tribal facilities and documents to assure compliance with Tribal-State Gaming Compacts and related agreements. Examining casinos' electronic games of chance (slot machines, video poker, etc.) to assure that devices are operating in accordance with terms of Compacts.
Conducting financial audits to assure that tribes are paying to the State 8% of Net Win derived from electronic games of chance, and 2% to local municipalities, in accordance with August 1993 Consent Judgment & 1998 Tribal State Gaming Compacts.
Note - "Net Win" is defined as the total amount wagered on each electronic game of chance, minus the total amount paid to players for winning wagers at said machines. ###
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