Following an 8-2 vote in a straw poll, the executive board of the Fort Peck Tribe has decided to not move forward with the proposed million Buffalo Rivers Casino in Fort Kipp, Montana. Officials said they will consider a scaled-down version of the casino and commission a more thorough feasibility study.
According to the casino web site, the proposed facility would have a gaming floor with 400 Class III video gaming machines, four poker tables, an event center, lodge, restaurant, snack bar, a lounge with a performance area and a gift shop. The groundbreaking was set for June 15 and the opening scheduled for May 2016.
The Fort Peck tribe would have made a $5 million down payment on building the casino, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Prior Lake recently had approved a $29 million loan to the Fort Peck tribe to build the casino. The loan would have a 6.5 percent interest rate with a 15-year repayment term; at that interest rate, the repayment total would be $44 million.
Tribal Councilman Rick Kirn called for the straw poll after he said a newspaper article stated the tribe already signed the loan contract. The tribe has been approved for the loan but has not yet signed it and will not sign it, at least not for the entire amount, Kirn said. He added a new feasibility study will be done before any plan moves forward. The working feasibility study found the casino would employ more than 200 people and generate more than $5 million yearly.
The Fort Peck tribe already has invested about a half million dollars into the project, including bills from Shakopee consultants and vendors. Councilwoman Pearl Hopkins said, “I can’t support it. Too much has been spent already and we could use that money for something here to help our elders and youth. I always pray about things like this.”
Councilman Garrett Big Leggins, chairman of the executive board’s Economic Development committee, said the Shakopee Tribe and its consultants have done enough research to believe a $33 million casino is feasible. “The Shakopee Tribe is not going to invest $30 million into a project that won’t work,” Big Leggins said. He added, “I’m going to pursue economic development one way or another. As the Economic Development committee chairman I want to bring in new jobs and revenue.”
