Indian Gaming > Editorial: Bay Mills off-reservation casino remains pipe dream

Editorial: Bay Mills off-reservation casino remains pipe dream

Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Filed Under: Opinion

"For the past several months, Port Huron has been buoyed by the renewed possibility of casino gambling. The Bay Mills Indian Community, a major player in Michigan's gaming industry, bought about 16 acres of land at Desmond Landing, raising hopes Port Huron might finally get the casino it has sought for more than a decade.

Last year, Bay Mills opened a new casino in Vanderbilt, a village of less than 600 people in northern Michigan's Otsego County. The facility is a symbol of hope. If it stays open, there's a chance Bay Mills could use its Desmond Landing property to open a casino in Port Huron.

You can't blame gambling advocates for keeping their fingers crossed. A casino alone wouldn't reverse the city's ailing economy, but it could help.

The Port Huron gaming operation could create more than 1,000 new jobs, just what a city struggling with chronic unemployment wants to see. Commercial development that usually comes with gaming houses could further boost the city's economic fortunes."

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Editorial: Port Huron's casino remains a pipe dream (The Port Huron Times Herald 2/15)