The Seminole Tribe in Florida and its entertainment company, Hard Rock, have agreed to partner with the Menominee Nation on a casino in Kenosha.
In a move that renews pressure on Gov. Scott Walker to approve the Kenosha project, the Menominee have cut a deal with the Seminole Tribe to have a 5,000-seat Hard Rock concert hall, restaurants, hotel, and gaming facility at the site of a former dog track. The Seminole would be the main investors and manage the facility.
Hard Rock International CEO Jim Allen says the site would be a regional draw.
“We believe there are a tremendous amount of people in the state of Wisconsin today who are going to casinos in Illinois,” says Allen. “We think a facility here, so close to the Illinois border, will bring those people back to the state of Wisconsin and bring back those jobs and revenues to the state of Wisconsin.”
Allen says there have been some talks about revenue sharing with the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, which has been very protective of its lucrative casino in Milwaukee, and with the Oneida about the financial picture of their gaming hall near Green Bay.
But many Kenosha-area political leaders are already on board with the Seminole-Menominee partnership. Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser says it's music to his ears. “Hard Rock-Kenosha – I like the sound of that, I really do.”
Kreuser called on Gov. Scott Walker to okay the Kenosha project. Walker says he's sticking to his standard that all Wisconsin tribes must approve the Kenosha deal, but that talks will continue. The Forest County Potawatomi says the casino proposal continues to fail to meet Walker's criteria.
