The Ho-Chunk Nation continues to wait for the U.S. Department of Interior to approve its proposed $400 million casino in Beloit, Wisconsin, hoping that will come in the next four to five months so construction can begin early next year. Governor Tony Evers signed off on the project last month. He said, “As we work to bounce back from this pandemic, we must do everything we can to support economic development in communities across our state.”
Tribal officials said the new Beloit venue would be the largest in the state, with a casino, convention center, 300-room hotel and 40,000-square-foot indoor water park on 73 acres. It will create 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs. Beloit and Rock County will share 2 percent a year in gaming tax revenue, with Beloit receiving 70 percent and the county 30 percent. Beloit City Manager Lori Curtis Luther stated, “We need additional revenue streams and we need jobs and the prospect of another 1,500 permanent jobs, that is something this community desperately needs.”
The Ho-Chunk Nation proposed the casino several years ago but its application was held up in bureaucratic red tape. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the project nearly one year ago and Evers’ okay came a year later.
Anti-casino groups Citizens Against Expanded Gambling and Wisconsin Family Action are attempting to block the casino, claiming with 25 casinos, Wisconsin is “more than saturated.”
Six years ago, then-Governor Scott Walker rejected the Menominee Tribe’s proposal to build a casino in Kenosha, also located on the Wisconsin-Illinois border. In fact, plans are progressing for a new Hard Rock casino in Rockford, just 20 miles from Beloit; a gaming license has not been granted yet.
During a recent visit to Rockford, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said, “All I can tell you is progress, real progress has been made. I know there’s a lot of excitement and anticipation. So, you know, I’m hopeful that I will be able to come here for the opening of that as well.”
Still, Ho-Chunk’s Beloit facility is expected to attract a large percentage of out-of-state visitors. However, the casino also could cannibalize business at some of the tribe’s existing gambling facilities, such as in Madison and near Wisconsin Dells. Ho-Chunk spokeswoman Sarah Lemieux noted the Beloit casino is likely to prohibit smoking.
