News Release
News Release
Media Contact: Weston Banker (920) 660-6235 weston@reputationpartners.com
Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe Notifies State of Wisconsin of Intent to Withhold Revenue Sharing Payment
The Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe announced today that it has notified the State of Wisconsin of its intent to withhold its revenue sharing payment of $923,000 and is invoking its right to dispute resolution procedures due to the State’s violation of its gaming compact with the Stockbridge-Munsee.
The Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe and the State of Wisconsin entered into a class III gaming compact in 1992 to ensure proper regulation of the Tribe’s gaming activities. In 2003, the Tribe and the State amended the compact to require the Tribe to share a large portion of its gaming revenues with the State in exchange for protection from another Indian tribe operating a nearby gaming facility under the Section 20 Exception of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The State is in violation of two sections of its compact with the Stockbridge-Munsee by:
“While we must protect our sovereign right to self-determination, we have always enjoyed a productive relationship with the State of Wisconsin and we hope that Governor Walker will heed our requests for fair compact enforcement so that this matter can be resolved without expensive and protracted litigation,” said Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Council.
The Stockbridge-Munsee’s decision to withhold its revenue sharing payment comes after the Tribe has exhausted all other options available to stop the unlawful Ho-Chunk Wittenberg expansion, including:
Each of the above requests were either ignored or rebuffed. Clear facts, data and opposition have not compelled the State to take a second look. Therefore, the Stockbridge-Munsee has no other option than to execute all remaining remedies available.
Crippling Impact:
If the $27 million Ho-Chunk Wittenberg Casino expansion is completed this year, the Ho-Chunk Nation will operate half of the state’s 10 largest casinos. In contrast, the Stockbridge-Munsee operate one gaming facility, the North Star Mohican Casino Resort, which is the largest employer in Shawano County and accounts for 96 percent of the Stockbridge-Munsee’s earned revenue. The impact of the Ho-Chunk Wittenberg’s illegal expansion will be devastating, with projections estimating seven tribal nations facing a combined $37 million annual loss should it be allowed to proceed. The Stockbridge-Munsee will bear the largest brunt of the impact, with an estimated $22 million annual reduction in machine revenue, according to a recent economic impact study commissioned by the Tribe.
“As our only gaming facility, the North Star Mohican Casino Resort is the economic lifeblood for our Tribe and hundreds of Shawano County families. Nearly 500 letters from concerned tribal members, employees, Shawano County residents and other tribal nations have been sent to the Governor and his administration requesting gaming compacts be fairly enforced and the unlawful Wittenberg expansion be stopped, with no response,” said Holsey. “We have tried to resolve these issues directly; now we are being forced to pursue all legal remedies available to protect our 1,200 tribal members, hundreds of employees and the various local organizations who rely on our support, such as the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, area towns and municipalities, the Bowler and Gresham School Districts, and local parks departments.
Fueled through gaming revenue from its one casino, the Stockbridge-Munsee broke ground in late 2016 on a new $1.3 million retail center near Highways 29 and 22 in Shawano, the only strip mall near a major highway between Wittenberg and Green Bay. In February 2017, the Tribe opened a new $1.7 million elderly care center. In addition, the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe contributes:
This is now all at grave and unnecessary risk, with the self-sustainability and broader economic impact of the Stockbridge-Munsee and a number of tribes put into serious question.
Call for Fair Enforcement:
As previously announced, The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians and other tribes are calling upon Governor Walker and his Administration to fairly enforce state gaming compacts for all tribes. For decades, the State has placed clear restrictions on the size, number and nature of gaming facilities across the state, establishing a distinction between full-scale casinos and much smaller ancillary facilities. However, in a perplexing and surprising reversal on its past position, the State is allowing the Ho-Chunk Nation to broadly reinterpret its compact terms so that it can turn its ancillary gaming facilities into full-scale casino-resorts.
According to the State’s own definition, an ancillary gaming facility is restricted in both size and scope in order to clearly differentiate it from a full-scale casino. First, the non-gaming business (such as a gas station) and the gaming business must be located in the same building. Second, the gaming business must generate less than 50 percent of the combined facility’s net revenue. Finally, the non-gaming portion of the building must be physically larger than the gaming portion of the building. Neither the Ho-Chunk’s current Wittenberg facility nor its planned expansion adheres to those terms.
Moreover, longstanding questions persist regarding whether the Ho-Chunk Nation may lawfully operate any gaming facility on its lands in Shawano County. The refusal of State and Federal regulators to enforce the land restrictions on Indian gaming on the Ho-Chunk Nation’s land in Wittenberg essentially allows any tribe to operate any type of gaming on any land it wants.
If the unlawful expansion of the Ho-Chunk Wittenberg ancillary facility is allowed to continue, all tribal/State gaming compacts will be rendered meaningless, destabilizing Wisconsin’s carefully negotiated gaming environment, increasing the likelihood of widespread and costly litigation, and creating uncertainty about the future of State tribal gaming revenues.
The in-progress $27 million expansion of the Ho-Chunk Wittenberg ancillary facility includes 750 slot machines, a new high-limit gaming area, 10 table games, an 86-room hotel and conference center facility, and an 84-seat restaurant/bar. While still being called an “ancillary facility,” it will in fact become one of the State’s top 10 casinos.
About the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe
The Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Tribe is one of 11 tribes in Wisconsin and has approximately 1,470 tribal members throughout the state, 34 percent of whom live on the Tribe’s reservation in Shawano County. The Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe is the largest employer in Shawano County and operates the North Star Mohican Casino Resort, which features 1,200 slot machines and 22 table games. The Tribe is committed to being a good steward of economic, environmental and intellectual resources in the region and strongly believes in the power of education. Each year, the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe contributes more than $100,000 in funding to the area’s two largest school districts and more than $200,000 to support neighboring communities and other Wisconsin Indian tribes. For more information about the Tribe, visit the website at http://www.mohican.com/ or the tribal Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/smcmohican/.