Saginaw Chippewa Tribe tops state gaming revenue payouts

Local governments received $6.1M in cash payouts

Cash payouts to mid-michigan governments fromthe Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe topped all payouts from tribal casinos statewide again in fiscal year 2019, state officials said.

Overall, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe paid out $6.1 million of the statewide total of $30.5million from casino gaming revenue by the state’s 12 federally-recognized tribes, the Michigan Gaming Control Board said.

Last year also marked the second in a row that the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe topped the state payments, meaning the Tribe also topped all other Indian casinos in electronic gaming revenue upon which the 2 percent payments are based.

For 2018, the Mt. Pleasant-based Tribe returned to the top of the state’s list with payouts of $6.03million after seven years out of the top spot.

Leading the list for 2019means that mid-michigan governments were also among the top recipients of gaming cash statewide:

• Payments to the city of Mt. Pleasant were $825,000, the third highest payout to a municipality.

• Isabella County netted $637,306, eighth

among municipalities.

• Mt. Pleasant Public Schools received $703,139, fifth among school district payments.

• Shepherd Public Schools got $495,792, seventh highest among schools.

• Beal City Public Schools received $252,226, 10th on the list of school recipients statewide.

Overall, revenue sharing was up 1.1 percent from 2018, which indicates yearover-year growth in the tribes’ net win from slot machines. All tribes ended FY 2019 before the impacts of COVID-19.

After the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s largest overall distribution payments of $6.1 million, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Indians made the second-largest total distribution of $5.9million.

For the third- largest overall payment, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians distributed $5.7 million.

Allegan County’s Wayland Township received the largest single local government unit distribution payment — $1 million — from the Gun Lake Tribe, which also sent an $892,000 payment to Allegan County. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians distributed $1.4million in payments to New Buffalo Township and Berrien County. From the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, the city of Mount Pleasant, Arenac County and Isabella County accepted a combined $2.2 million in distribution payments.

Here are the largest distributions to local governments:

• Gun Lake Tribe, Wayland Township, $1 million;

• Gun Lake Tribe, Allegan County, $891,614;

• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, New Buffalo Township, $803,811;

• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Berrien County, $605,607;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, City of Mount Pleasant, $825,648;

• Nottawaseppi Huron

Band of Potawatomi Indians, Emmett Charter Township, $780,109;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Arenac County, $721,064;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Isabella County, $637,306

• Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, Calhoun County, $495,477;

• Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Manistee County, $431,121.

During fiscal year 2019, school districts in the Lower Peninsula received some of the largest distributions from tribes. Two tribes - the Nottawaseppi Huronb and of Potawatomi Indians and the Gun Lake Tribe - distributed more than $2 million each to local school districts in Calhoun and Allegan counties, and school districts in Berrien and Van Buren counties received nearly $2 million fromthe Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. In central Michigan, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe distributed a total of more than $1.4 million to three Isabella County school districts.

Here are the largest distributions to school districts:

• Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, Harper Creek Community Schools, $2.3 million;

• Gun Lake Tribe, Wayland Union Schools, $2.1 million;

• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, New Buffalo Public Schools, $1.6 million;

• Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Manistee Area Public Schools, $841,409;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Mount Pleasant Public Schools, $703,139;

• Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, Calhoun Intermediate School District, $571,745;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Shepherd Public Schools, $495,792;

• Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Petoskey Public Schools, $479,594;

• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Hartford Public Schools, $344,117;

• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Beal City Schools, $252,226.