Although Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker probably will not make a decision on the Menominee Tribe’s proposed 0 million casino in Kenosha until February 19, officials from the tribe and Hard Rock International recently announced they have reached an agreement with Gateway Technical College and the College of Menominee Nation to provide training for the expected 3,000 employees. Workers would be trained information technology, security, hotel management and customer service for the planned casino, hotel, spa and concert venue.
Gateway President Bryan Albrecht said the college already has many of the necessary training programs for the Menominee project, so the jobs institute would involve customizing the programs for the casino. Gary Besaw, chairman of the Menominee-Kenosha Gaming Authority, said, “Like any smart business, we must plan ahead for the human resources needed to run an enterprise this huge. That takes a lot of planning and preparation so we are not caught flat-footed.”
The Menominee-Kenosha Gaming Authority also launched a jobs website, www.hardrockhotels.com/kenosha.htm. Since September, more than 1,750 job-seekers people have registered on it, said casino spokesman Michael Beightol. He added the project also will create 7,000 indirect jobs including construction providing services and goods to the Kenosha facility.
The Forest County Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk remain strongly opposed to the Menominee project. The Potawatomi claim the casino would drain revenue from their Milwaukee operation, which recently added a $150 million, 381- room hotel.
In addition, Potawatomi spokesman George Ermert said, “This is still a project that will be managed and developed by an out-of-state tribe who will take hundreds of millions of dollars out of Wisconsin and bring hundreds of millions to Florida,” referring to the fact that the Kenosha project would be developed and managed by Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole tribe of Florida. It’s not clear exactly how much Hard Rock International would receive from the Kenosha casino.
Beightol said for the past year, the Kenosha project team has met regularly with Walker administration officials, discussing possible compact amendments. He said the compacts could “provide a pathway” to address concerns from the Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk tribes. “It’s been an ongoing discussion. And every day we creep closer to what the governor himself has said is his desired goal, and that is a win-win-win,” Beightol said.
