It was reported that people who champion the construction of casino in Kenosha are going to continue their fight for the approval of the project.
A fortnight ago, Gov. Scott Walker announced his decision to reject the Menominee Indian Tribe’s bid to build a gambling venue in the city of Kenosha. The tribe planned to locate its Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at the Dairyland Greyhound Park.
It took Gov. Walker almost a year to make his decision about the construction of the new venue. Eventually, he said “no” to the project for he was afraid that the Potawatomi Nation might ask the state of Wisconsin to reimburse any losses its casino in Milwaukee might have suffered, provided that the Kenosha venue opened doors. However, the Menominee Tribe had stated that it would cover any potential losses.
Gov. Walker said that the state cannot be certain that it will not be asked to pay more than $100 million to the Potawatomi Nation in the short term as well as millions of dollars in future. The official also shared that he was not particularly happy with the agreements that the previous Governor Jim Doyle had inked with the local tribes.
Mere hours after Gov. Walker released the statement with his final decision, several Republicans from Racine, a city located not far from Kenosha, held a press conference. One of the officials was Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. He pointed to the numerous benefits that the region would receive, provided that the casino project was not rejected.
The Menominee Tribe had promised Racine that no less than 15% of the created casino jobs would be offered to the city’s residents.
Mr. Vos also pointed to the fact that Kenosha’s economy had already benefited from the failed project, as a few major companies located their operations there, Amazon being one of these. Racine, however, was not that lucky. Mayor John Dickert said that the city is currently the state’s leader in unemployment rate.
The construction of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino would have created more than 5,000 construction jobs and about 3,500 permanent ones.
Apart from the Racine Republicans, the so-called Tea Party is also urging Gov. Walker to reconsider his decision. Last week, more than 70 members sent a letter to the governor hoping that it will help him change his mind.
The members of the Tea Party, too, did not miss to mention the numerous economic benefits the project could bring to the region.
Although Gov. Walker stated that he was not likely to change his mind, the Bureau of Indian Affairs gave him until February 19 to reconsider his decision.
