Associated Press
DULUTH, Minn. — The city of Duluth has lost another round in its fight to take a cut of the revenue from a downtown tribal casino.
The U.S. Department of Interior says the city’s lease agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is invalid. The agreement once provided the city with 19 percent of electronic gaming revenue from the Fond-du-Luth Casino, or about $6 million a year. The band stopped making the payments in 2009, which triggered a continuing legal battle.
Mayor Don Ness tells the Duluth News Tribune (http://bit.ly/JdVLLa ) that federal authorities only considered information supplied by the Fond du Lac band before reaching a decision. The National Indian Gaming Commission last year determined the lease agreement was in violation of federal law.