Here.
As early as Tuesday morning, the Committee for More Michigan Jobs could get approval from the State Board of Canvassers to launch a campaign to persuade Michigan voters to let the group build those two casinos and six more. If the developers convince voters to amend the Michigan Constitution, it could usher in the largest expansion of gambling since Detroit won three casinos in 1996.
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Backers include former Granholm administration budget director Mitch Irwin, an East Lansing Democrat, and former House Speaker Rick Johnson, a Cadillac-area Republican. The Detroit partnership has lined up names such as Four Tops singer Duke Fakir, boxing promoter Emanuel Steward and Detroit funeral director O’Neil Swanson as major investors.Despite the big names and big money, however, the outcome is far from certain. The proposal faces opposition from Indian tribes that operate outstate casinos and existing Detroit casino operators not keen on new competition.
“We are confident the voters of Michigan will reject this unprecedented expansion of gaming,” said James Nye, spokesman for Protect MI Vote, a coalition that includes MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit; the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, owner of Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, owner of FireKeepers Casino near Battle Creek.
Turtle Talk 