Lorain Pursuing American Indian Casino
March 21, 2005

The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that the Eastern Shawnee tribe of Okalahoma and the Mayor of Lorain has announced plans for a $100 million casino project. The site will be called the Lorain Harbor Resort. The casino would contain 3,000 slot machines, in addition to a convention center, maritime museum, shops, restaurants and a boardwalk. The tribe will pay $285,000 to the city over the next two years to keep an option on the Lorain land. Then if state and federal officials approve casino gambling, the Shawnee’s will buy the land for $6 million. Mayor Foltin has estimated that the city of Lorain would earn 2 percent of the casino’s revenue, which would be about $7 million a year. This is based on a projected $350 million total annual revenue for the casino.

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State and City Lawmakers Consider Casino Gambling
March 21, 2005

According to the Chillicothe Gazette, both Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell and Cincinnati Mayor Charles Luken are pursuing casino gambling in their cities. The issue has failed twice on the statewide ballot since 1990. These two mayors want the issue to go to the ballot again, but posed as a different question. Campbell and Luken want the voters to amend the Ohio Constitution to allow residents of each city, not the whole state, to decide whether casino gambling should be permitted in their city. This is more of a home-rule approach to the issue. Proponents of this type of spin on the casino issue have said that they do not know of any place in the country pursuing this route to legalize casino gambling. Mayor Campbell claims that there has been a positive response to the home rule idea amongst the citizens of Cleveland.

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Tribes Pursuing Casinos in Ohio Locations
March 10, 2005

As recently reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, at least three American Indian tribes are pursuing casino gambling locations in Ohio. The Eastern Shawnee, Wyandot and Ottawa tribes have been exploring casino gambling options in Ohio. The tribes have proponents of Las Vegas style gambling in Ohio, however it is not currently legal. There are obstacles for the tribes to overcome for gambling sites to become a reality, and what the tribes are trying to achieve in Ohio has not yet been done in the United States. No tribe has opened a casino out of their home state, and none of these tribes currently have land in Ohio. In order to obtain land in Ohio, which the tribes say is rightfully theirs, the land must be placed in federal trust. Terry Casey, a consultant who represents the Eastern Shawnee tribe, says there’s nothing in law that says that such transactions can’t be done. However, if the land is placed in trust, there would then need to be a compact reached with the governor and the legislature to allow casinos. Governor Taft remains opposed to expanding gambling of any type in Ohio.

Each tribe has been pursuing different parts of the state for possible casino sites. The Eastern Shawnee tribe has been the most aggressive in negotiations, and recently reached an agreement with the officials of Monroe. They have proposed a $750 million casino and retail complex near Monroe, which is along Interstate 75, between Cincinnati and Dayton. The tribe also has indicated interest in sites near Botkins, and sites in Lorain and Trumbull counties. The Wyandot tribe has been less public about their plans, and have been meeting with officials in the Cleveland area. The tribe’s plan is for casino resorts in northern Ohio, possibly four sites, which would generate $1 billion in revenue. Meanwhile, the Ottawa tribe is looking to develop casinos in the Toledo area.

According to a University of Dayton law professor, the first American Indian tribe to accomplish what these three tribes are trying to do in Ohio may be the Seneca-Cuyuga tribe of Oklahoma. The Seneca-Cuyuga tribe has established a land claim in New York State, and is working on an agreement to allow it to open a casino in the Catskills.

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