Study says proposed new casino would affect Potawatomi revenue

A Menominee tribal casino at Kenosha would drain an estimated $162 million a year in revenue from an expanded Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, according to a new study commissioned by the Potawatomi.

The report released Wednesday by the Potawatomi said profits for the tribe would take an $89 million-a-year hit if the Menominee plan for a casino is approved.

The figures were contained in material submitted by the Potawatomi this week to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs opposing the Kenosha casino. The bureau is considering the Menominee bid for an off-reservation casino at the site of Dairyland Greyhound Park. The plan requires both federal and state approval.

The study said the drain in gambling money from Milwaukee it describes represents a reduction in a much larger potential casino take, not a drop from current revenue.

The Potawatomi casino could boost its annual revenue to some $570 million through a planned expansion if it does not have to compete with a Kenosha casino, the study says. The tribe has announced plans for a $240 million addition to its Milwaukee casino that would double the number of slot machines to about 3,200.

Potawatomi spokesman Ken Walsh said that any diminishment of revenue to the Milwaukee casino translates into lower payments to the city and county, which each get 1.5 percent of the city's annual take.

Menominee tribal chairman Michael Chapman said the new Potawatomi study underscores that there's room for both casinos to thrive in southeastern Wisconsin.

The Potawatomi casino has not "fully cultivated the local market," Chapman said.

The Potawatomi-commissioned study also acknowledged that the local gambling market is underserved.

"Milwaukee as a gaming market and the Potawatomi casino specifically clearly have room to expand," the report said.

Source: Article originally published in Gazzette Extra