Issue 168
December 1 - 7, 2003
Volume 3
page 2
 

Casino-hotel complex could boost Southland

A Native American tribe from Wisconsin has its eye on the Southland as a potential location for a recreational complex that would include a casino, hotel, water park and museum.

The Lynwood-Sauk Village area is being looked at closely as a possible development site, sources said.

A south suburban state lawmaker compared the plan she has seen to Gurnee Mills, the sprawling shopping center near the Six Flags Great America amusement park, along Interstate 94 near the Wisconsin border.

Southtown business writer Mike Nolan reported Thursday that the Chicago Southland Chamber of Commerce has been working with the Ho-Chunk Nation since mid-year, providing information about the region. The Black River Falls, Wis., tribe operates casinos and bingo halls at four locations in Wisconsin and has been considering opening an Illinois complex for some time. Under federal law, Native American tribes are not required to secure state licenses to operate casinos, but the tribes and states must negotiate agreements that are acceptable to both.

Manny Hoffman, chairman of the Southland chamber, and state Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete) each touted the jobs that such a development would generate in the region, as well as the related economic development it might spark.

The proposal also might keep in the Southland some of the entertainment dollars that are flowing out of the region to casinos and hotels in northwest Indiana. If this proposal advances, state and local officials should seek agreements with the casino developers that include financial donations or other contributions to benefit the area.

Halvorson said the development plan she has seen has the potential to turn the Southland into a vacation destination. With downtown Chicago only about a half-hour away, as well as Lake Michigan recreation sites, regional shopping centers and major music and entertainment venues, too, the Southland would seem to be an ideal location for a development such as the one the Ho-Chunk Nation has in mind.

 

 

 

Walls man arrested in Tunica Grand Casino robbery
As Reported by The Clarion-Ledger

TUNICA - A Walls man was being held Friday on $250,000 bond after his arrest this week in the "honey bun" robbery of Tunica's Grand Casino.

The robbery took place Sept. 30 when a suspect placed a package on the counter of the cashier's cage, claiming there was a bomb inside.

Authorities said the suspect fled with more than $60,000 in cash from the cashier's cage.

The package, checked by the Memphis police bomb squad, was found to contain a honey bun. The threat of a bomb closed the casino for more than seven hours.

No bombs were found.

Kevis Cordez Wilson, 32, was arrested Tuesday at his home in Walls by investigators with the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said Wilson was not the person who placed the box at the casino cage, but is thought to have been involved in the robbery.

The person who placed the box at the cage is a woman, he said.

Chris Hemmeter, developer of failed N.O. casino, dies
As Reported by The Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) - Chris Hemmeter, a powerful Hawaii developer who lost much of his vast fortune in a failed attempt to build a $1 billion casino in New Orleans, has died after years of battling Parkinson's disease and various forms of cancer.

Hemmeter, 64, was with family members when he died Thanksgiving Day at his Los Angeles home, said his son, Mark Hemmeter.

Hemmeter moved to California 13 years ago, but always considered Hawaii home, and returned to Honolulu to celebrate his 64th birthday Oct. 8. The party was attended by three former Hawaii governors.

Hemmeter built some of Hawaii's most lavish and best known resorts - the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Westin Kauai, Hyatt Regency Waikoloa and the Westin Maui - which fueled an economic boom by attracting high-spending Japanese tourists

In 1988, Forbes magazine listed him as the 389th wealthiest person in America, with $225 million in assets.



 

LeAnn Rimes

 

Aladdin Resort and Casino: LeAnn Rimes, country music's "teen of hearts" performs at The Aladdin in Las Vegas.

Date: December 12, 2003

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