The approval was received from the Department of the Interior (DOI) during the last days of the Trump administration in December 2020. The lengthy process included the tribe being allowed to take the respective land into trust for gaming purposes. The tribe’s efforts to open the casino started in 2007 when they acquired the horse track at Great Lakes Downs. 3,000 Jobs Down the DrainĪccording to Romanelli, the $180-million casino project would have generated 3,000 new jobs for members of the tribe and their families, while supporting the housing and healthcare needs of the local community. What does the decision mean for the tribe? According to its chief executive officer Larry Romanelli, it’s a 12-year setback and a “flattening” of all efforts to see a casino built at the location of the former Great Downs racetrack.

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer decided not to give the green light to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ proposal for an off-reservation casino project in Fruitport Township, Muskegon County.

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