Tribal casinos in Wisconsin apparently didn't feel the pinch of a lackluster economy last year, according to a report released recently.
Gaming revenue at the 27 Indian gaming facilities in Wisconsin rose 7.3 percent in 2007 to about $1.335 billion.
The numbers were listed in "Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report" written by Alan Meister, an economist with Analysis Group of Los Angeles.
The number of gaming machines at tribal casinos in Wisconsin rose 7.6 percent to 16,810 in 2007, the report said, while the number of table games increased 1.6 percent to 316.
The report noted a number of recent developments in the tribal gaming industry in Wisconsin:
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- In June, the Forest County Potawatomi Community doubled the number of gaming machines and table games at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee.
- The Stockbridge-Munsee Community plans to expand Mohican North Star Casino and Bingo in Bowler near Shawano to accommodate additional games and nongaming amenities.
- Construction of the Ho-Chunk Nation's new ancillary gaming facility near Wittenberg should be complete by October.
- By early December, the St. Croix Chippewa plan to complete construction of the new Hole in the Wall Casino in Danbury, with enlarged gaming areas, a new attached hotel, and expanded food and beverage facilities.
- Planned for completion in 2009 and 2010, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is renovating the Menominee Casino Bingo Hotel near Keshena with additional gaming space, an expansion of the hotel, and the addition of restaurant and convention space.
There also are two off-reservation gaming proposals still pending before the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. One submitted by the Bad River and St. Croix Chippewa bands is to build a casino in Beloit, the other by the Menominee tribe would convert the greyhound track in Kenosha into a casino.
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa's proposal for an off-reservation casino in Shullsburg was rejected recently by the BIA because it would be too far from the tribe's reservation, the report said.
Neighboring Minnesota had 34 Indian gaming facilities in 2007 that generated $1.5 billion in gaming revenue, just a 0.5 percent increase over 2006, the report said.
Tribal casinos in California generated more than $7.8 billion in gaming revenue last year, nearly 30 percent of the national total, the report said.
Source: Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report, 2008-09 Edition
For more information about the Indian gaming study, visit www.CasinoCityPress.com .
-- Copyright © 2008, The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram/Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
