The Forest County Potawatomi recently “repaid the state in full,” said Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesman Cullen Werwie, following the tribe’s withholding of its annual casino fee. The Potawatomi skipped its June 2014 payment over concern that the state would not be able to repay it if Governor Scott Walker had approved the Menominee tribe’s proposed 0 million Hard Rock casino in Kenosha.
The casino fee the Potawatomi pays under its state gaming compact, negotiated with former Governor Jim Doyle, is 6.5 percent of net win, or an estimated $25-$30 million. The compact also calls for the state to reimburse the tribe for any losses its Milwaukee casino would suffer due to the Kenosha casino. In rejecting the Kenosha proposal last January, Walker said, “I cannot put the taxpayers of this state on the hook of losing about $100 million or more now and potentially more in the future,” even though the Menominees said they were willing to cover those expenses.
Critics claim Walker , who may run for president, rejected the casino plan to please anti-gambling conservatives in Iowa ahead of next year’s first presidential primary.
