Plans recently were revealed for the Menominee Tribe’s proposed 0 million off-reservation Hard Rock hotel and casino at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park site in Kenosha, Wisconsin, even though Governor Scott Walker has yet to approve it. Jeff Hook, vice president of marketing for Seminole Gaming, owner of Hard Rock International, said phase one would include a 400,000 square foot gaming floor with 2,700 slot machines, 100 table games and 24 poker games, plus an entertainment venue and retail space. A temporary casino will be open during construction. Phase two, to be completed four years later, would feature a hotel, spa and pool. The entire project would create 1,400 construction jobs, 3,300 direct permanent jobs and 1,800 indirect jobs.
Walker received approval from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to delay making a decision on the casino until February 19. He had said he would not approve it unless the state’s 11 Indian tribes agreed. The Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi remain strongly opposed to the Kenosha casino. Potawatomi Spokesman Ken Walsh said since Hard Rock International is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, if this casino is approved “hundreds of millions of Wisconsin dollars will flow out of the state.”
Walker’s opponent in the November elections, Mary Burke, said, “If the Kenosha casino resulted in significant new job growth for Wisconsin, I would go ahead with it.”
