The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ proposed casino in South Bend, Indiana, recently entered the 30-day comment period following the release of the Environmental Impact Statement by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. After the comment period, the BIA will release its Record of Decision on if it will permit tribe to begin construction on the casino.
The 432,000 square foot Four Winds Casino—the same name as the tribe’s three properties in Michigan—would be built on a 166-acre site. The project also includes an 18-story, 500-room hotel and 4,000-vehicle parking facility.
Pokagon Chairman John Warren said, “The Pokagon Band has been in this region for hundreds of years. These are historic agreements that will infuse millions of dollars into the economy and create hundreds of new jobs.”
As a sovereign nation operating on reservation land, the Pokagon tribe’s casino would be exempt from paying federal and state income tax. However, the tribe and the city of South Bend worked out an arrangement whereby the tribe would direct two percent of casino net winnings to the local government. Also, the tribe announced it will contribute $2.75 million to improve public parks, $500,000 to Memorial Children’s Hospital and $500,000 to the South Bend Community School Corporation.
But even those civic donations are not enough to appease the anti-casino group Citizens for a Better Michiana. In a statement, the group said crime increase 10 percent when a casino is built in a region without gambling. The group also is concerned the casino would be located “dangerously close” to neighborhoods and schools, and it cited a National Association of Realtors study indicating casinos have an “unambiguously negative” impact on property values.
