Menominee Tribe and Hard Rock International revive Wisconsin casino project
A Wisconsin tribe will, in partnership with Hard Rock International, “relaunch” an effort to open a casino in Kenosha.
The Menominee Indian Tribe will embark on a renewed development which it said will provide “necessary resources” for members.
It is one of the Badger State’s largest and poorest tribes, regularly reporting high poverty rates while simultaneously ranking low for health outcomes.
An $800m development was planned in 2015, also in partnership with Hard Rock, but it was scrapped by Wisconsin’s then Governor Scott Walker.
However, the project has now been revived, and the Menominee hope it will provide funding for much-needed investments in healthcare and education, among other areas.
The tribe’s Chairman, Ronald J. Corn, Sr, commented: “Much has changed since our 2015 effort, but the needs of our tribe and its members have continued and in some cases grown more acute.
“We need to make greater investments into healthcare for our children and elders, we need to make more investments into educating our young people and we need to do more to reduce the high levels of poverty, hunger and unemployment on our reservation.
“A casino and entertainment centre in the city of Kenosha is the best path for our tribe to obtain the resources to help achieve those important goals.”
There are several differences between the tribe’s 2015 effort and this new project, chiefly that its size will be “trimmed back” to reflect “the increased number of gaming facilities in both Wisconsin and northern Illinois.”
Furthermore, while previous plans called for a casino and entertainment complex on the site of Kenosha’s old Dairyland dog track, this new development will be located less than a mile away, just west of the interstate on an approximately 60-acre parcel of land.
The Menominee will own the casino and related facilities, while Hard Rock will develop and manage the project.
“Hard Rock has a long-standing partnership with the Menominee Tribe and is proud to support them in their continued efforts to bring a world-class gaming and entertainment resort to the Kenosha community,” said Jon Lucas, Hard Rock International COO.
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