Backers of a proposed $180 million casino near Muskegon are hopeful there’s still a chance for gubernatorial approval of their plans, though that likely won’t come for at least another six months.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s approval is needed for the casino proposed by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. She declined to give that approval last year, though she indicated she’d reconsider pending the outcome of another tribe’s quest for federal recognition.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has issued a proposed decision denying recognition for that tribe, the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, which had claimed as their homeland the property planned for the casino.
