Menominee Nation Tribal Legislator Craig Corn had a few tweets to say about Scott Walker after the Wisconsin Republican Governor ended his presidential bid due to debt and internal conflicts. Last year Walker denied the tribe’s proposal for an 0 million, off-reservation Hard Rock casino at the former Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, despite approval by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Corn tweeted, “He put his presidential bid before what was best for Wisconsin,” adding Walker’s rejection cost the tribe significant casino revenue and hundreds of much-needed jobs. Corn noted the coincidence that Walker killed the casino proposal after he received a petition denouncing gambling expansion in Wisconsin signed by 600 influential Republicans.
Walker said he denied the Menominee’s Kenosha casino because taxpayers might be at risk for $100 million in lost revenue according to existing gaming compacts. However, the tribe vowed to make up any lost revenue. Still, many believe Walker was angling for the support of Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, owner of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and the Potawatomi tribe, operators of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Resort in Milwaukee that fought hard against the Menominee casino.
Walker even stood firm after several Wisconsin legislators asked him to change his mind and Hard Rock and the Menominees offered to pay the state’s share of $220 million for a new Milwaukee Bucks stadium. Walker stated that “would face serious legal challenges, as it would circumvent the role of the legislature in appropriating state revenue.”
Walker has three years left in his term.
