LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL LIMITING ONLINE LOTTERY SALES

Just days before the end of the 2015 session, the Minnesota Legislature has passed a bill requiring the Minnesota Lottery to stop offering online scratch-off games. Governor Dayton has indicated he will not veto the bill, which passed with overwhelming support in both chambers. Dayton vetoed a similar bill in 2014.

This year's version of the bill allows lottery officials four months to terminate its contracts with vendors of the online games.

According to a May 14 Associated Press report, the measure had strong legislative support because lawmakers believed the lottery had "overstepped its bounds" by expanding into online sales without legislative authorization. Bill sponsor Rep. Tim Sanders (R-Blaine) said it's up to lawmakers to decide how far gambling goes.

MILLE LACS CHIEF EXECUTIVE BENJAMIN TO OPEN TRIBAL ENERGY CONFERENCE

 Mille Lacs Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin will welcome tribal representatives from around the country to one of her tribe's two downtown St. Paul hotels on Monday, May 27, for a groundbreaking "Tribal Energy Summit" offered by the nation's first 100-percent tribally owned conference and event company. The 3-day conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront on Kellogg Boulevard.

The conference agenda will feature a number of tribal energy projects, including one from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC). Stan Ellison, SMSC Director of Land and Natural Resources, will present a case study of Koda Energy, the biomass project developed by the tribe and a private sector partner in Shakopee, Minnesota.

The Tribal Energy Summit is produced by Tekamuk Training and Events, a wholly owned enterprise of the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians. Although the Mesa Grande Band is based in northeastern San Diego County in California, the company offers educational and training events at tribal venues throughout the U.S.

Conference director Heidi Buss said the Tribal Energy Summit is designed to introduce attendees to the energy market, educate them on issues related to energy development, and help them begin the process of creating an energy plan for their own tribes. It is the first in a three-part energy series that will take tribes from the earliest stages of energy planning to advanced content on deal structuring, financing, negotiation of power purchase agreements, and regulatory issues. The second and third events will be held in the fall of 2015 at tribal venues in New Mexico and California, respectively.

Buss said that limited seating is still available for the conference. Agenda details and registration are available online at www.tekamuk.com.

LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS MULTIPLE GAMBLING PROPOSALS

The Minnesota Legislature is considering no less than fifteen separate proposals that would enact changes in Minnesota lottery and charitable gambling, and authorize new gambling forms and venues in the state.

Several House bills now in committee would prohibit the Minnesota Lottery from expanding sales of certain lottery tickets online and at gas pumps or ATMs. Governor Dayton vetoed a similar measure at the end of the 2014 session. Another proposal, House File 1371, would dedicate state lottery net proceeds to local roads and bridges. House File 123 would require the lottery to include warnings about the odds of winning in its advertising and promotional materials.

Other measures under discussion would modify taxation and regulation of the state's charitable gambling pulltab programs, legalize betting on professional and collegiate sports, authorize the lottery to operate slot machines at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, change and clarify horse racing regulations, and add tournaments and contests of whist, a card game similar to bridge, to the list of permitted social skill games.

The majority of the gambling proposals are being heard by the State Government Finance Committee and the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee. The bill proposing to dedicate lottery proceeds to local roads and bridges is before the Transportation Policy and Finance Committee.

WALKER SAYS 'NO' TO MENOMINEE TRIBE'S KENOSHA CASINO

The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported on Friday, January 23 that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has denied the request of the Menominee Tribe to open an off-reservation casino in Kenosha. The project had been endorsed by Kenosha County but faced strong opposition from the Potawatomi and Ho-Chunk Tribes, who believed a Kenosha casino would harm their existing casino operations.

The Menominee Tribe has been seeking approval for a Kenosha casino for more than a decade. In 2005, former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed a compact with the Potawatomi Tribe requiring that the tribe be reimbursed for any loss of business stemming from approval of the Kenosha casino proposal. Governor Walker cited this requirement as one of the major reasons for his decision to deny the Menominee Tribe's request.

State officials expressed the fear that state taxpayers might be on the hook for that reimbursement, even though the Menonimee Tribe had pledged a $200 million bond to cover any losses incurred by the competing tribes.

Federal law requires that proposals for off-reservation casinos be approved by the Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs as well as by the Governor in the affected state. Governors have virtual veto power over the opening of any proposed off-reservation tribal casino.

MIGA Executive Director John McCarthy said that MIGA tribes adopted a resolution opposing any expansion of gaming, including off-reservation casinos, in 1992 and have maintained that position ever since.

TRIBAL LEADERS ATTEND WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE

Minnesota tribal leaders join hundreds of their counterparts from across the nation today at the 6th annual White House Tribal Nations Conference hosted by President Barack Obama. Tribal officials will advise the President and several Cabinet members on the most pressing challenges facing their communities, including rampant unemployment, high violent crime rates, and failing schools.

President Obama initiated the annual meetings as a way to improve the sometimes rocky relationship that has historically existed between tribes and the federal government. Mr. Obama was only the fourth president in U.S. history to visit an Indian reservation when he traveled to the Standing Rock Reservation earlier this year.

Each of the 566 federally recognized tribes was invited to send a representative to the conference, which will include an address by President Obama as well as listening sessions with officials from various federal government agencies and departments, and a reception at the National Museum of the American Indian.

As part of the two-day event, tribal leaders were invited to attend the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5 pm yesterday. This year's Capitol Christmas tree comes from the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota, and was accompanied to Washington, D.C. by students from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

MILLE LACS BAND ACQUIRES OKLAHOMA CITY HOTEL

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, which announced the purchase of two St. Paul hotels over the past year as part of its economic diversification strategy, has acquired a third hotel property, this one an Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City. The Band issued the following news release on the acquisition:

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) announced today that it has closed the purchase of the 236 room Embassy Suites Oklahoma City hotel, located at 1815 South Meridian, Oklahoma City, OK 73108. The purchase represents a strategic expansion into a growing market for the company.

"We are excited to enter the Oklahoma City market with one of the strongest performing hospitality assets,” said Joseph Nayquonabe, CEO of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures. “The quality of the suites and the proximity to key attractions around the city position this hotel for exceptional performance.”

Located only six miles from downtown and less than four miles from Will Rogers World Airport, the recently renovated hotel boasts an atrium, 9,968 square feet of meeting space, a business center, fitness room, indoor heated pool and gift shop.

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures will grant Greenwood Hospitality Group – a Denver based hospitality management firm – an agreement to manage the property.

“We are very excited to enter into a partnership with Greenwood Hospitality,” Nayquonabe continued. “This partnership represents a unique opportunity to combine our expertise and work together to maximize the value of this strong asset.”

In 2013, Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, issued a directive to diversify the Band’s corporate holdings and strengthen the tribal economy.

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures began its long-term strategy to diversify the Mille Lacs Band’s investments beyond gaming with the purchase of the Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront hotel and the DoubleTree by Hilton in St. Paul, Minn. Since then, MLCV has further diversified by opening Sweetgrass Media, a commercial print shop and acquiring 2020 Brand Solutions. It is in the process of several other planned investments, including the rebuild of Eddy’s Resort on Lake Mille Lacs and the development of a commercial laundry facility and a medical office building in Hinckley, Minn.

“Economic diversification is critical to building a strong future for the Mille Lacs Band and I am pleased to see our corporate arm, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, acquiring assets that will benefit Band members for many generations to come,” said Benjamin.

This hospitality acquisition is the second step in a nationwide strategy to acquire hospitality assets in major markets.

“We remain confident in our decision to enter the hospitality space,” said Jeff Castillo, director of investments and economic development for MLCV. “Market fundamentals remain strong, demand seems to have fully recovered and we are anticipating record occupancy levels in both urban and airport locations.”

Nayquonabe said MLCV is continually analyzing deals in search of opportunities that meet its stringent investment criteria and will position the company for long-term success. “We’re very pleased to add the Embassy Suites Oklahoma City to our growing portfolio and we look forward to discovering our next great opportunity.”

About Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures manages all the Mille Lacs Band’s businesses, including Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Grand Casino Hinckley, the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel and the DoubleTree Hilton in St. Paul, Minn., 2020 Brand Solutions, Embassy Suites Oklahoma City and other Band-owned businesses such as a cinema, a grocery store, gas/convenience stores, a golf course, wastewater treatment plant and a print shop. It also oversees certain amount of the Band’s investments and considers new business opportunities to provide economic support for the Band’s future. Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures has over 3,500 employees and its board of directors is comprised of five members, who guide the business and investment decisions for the Band.

CALIFORNIA MOVES TO STOP TRIBE'S ONLINE BINGO

A gaming website is reporting that the Attorney General for the State of California has filed a federal lawsuit to stop the online bingo program recently launched by the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. The online source, CaliforniaOnlinePoker.com, said the lawsuit was filed on November 18, and claims that the tribe's action in conducting online bingo violates state and federal law, as well as its compact with the state because the gaming is offered to bettors not located on tribal land.

Documents filed in the lawsuit begin with this statement of the case:

This action seeks appropriate injunctive relief to prevent unlawful Internet gambling; Defendant Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, also known as Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Mission Indians (Tribe), has begun to offer a facsimile of bingo over the Internet to bettors, who are not located on the Tribe’s Indian lands. In addition to violating state and federal law, the Tribe’s conduct materially breaches the tribal-state class III gaming compact (Compact) between the Tribe. and the State. 

According to the report, the state also asserts in the lawsuit that state officials attempted without success to meet with tribal officials to discuss their online gaming plans. In a written response to the state's request, the tribe advised that it had no plans to offer online bingo, but intended to offer online poker only.

The tribe has previously stated that it is exercising its sovereign right under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to regulate and conduct Class II gaming from the tribe's reservation.