Slot and table game winnings that are left behind or dropped on the floor at the Gun Lake Casino in Bradley, Michigan, owned by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, are deposited into a special fund. Recently the tribe used that money to donate $20,000 to three charities. Tribal spokesman James Nye said, “Basically, it’s money that’s displaced in some way that remains at the casino and is not technically the property of another patron, guest or the casino itself.”
The tribe gave $10,000 to the National Indian Child Welfare Association; $5,000 to the Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center; and $5,000 to the Native American Rights Fund.
Tribal Director of Governmental Affairs John Shagonaby stated, “The tribe is proud to support the protection of tribal sovereignty and keeping our families together across Indian country. It is especially meaningful for us to make these donations during the holiday season. Groups like Safe Harbor are a real blessing to our community so we’re happy to assist them with this donation.”
Earlier the tribe announced it gave $8.2 million as part of its biannual revenue sharing payment to the state of Michigan and local governments, schools and non-profit groups. Those payments were up 24 percent over 2016, under the compact requiring the tribe to pay the state 2 percent in slot revenue in exchange for exclusive gaming rights within a 9-county area. The state of Michigan received $4,731,126, and the local revenue sharing board received $2,117,954. GLIMI, an economic development entity, received $1,419,338, calculated from electronic gaming revenues from April 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017.
Tribal Chairman Scott Sprague said, “This is a very special distribution because of the significant increase in revenues due to the expansion, and because we have surpassed the $100 million milestone.”
He noted the casino recently completed a $76 million expansion project which added slot machines, a high-stakes gaming room and expanded restaurants and bar areas. A 1,500-space parking facility currently is under construction.
Gun Lake Casino opened in 2011 and employs more than 1,000 people. Next month, as required by federal law requiring tribal casinos to remove private managers after seven years of operation, the tribe will end its management contract with MPM Enterprises, a joint venture owned by an affiliate of Station Casinos, Inc. and a group of local investors.
