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Ho-Chunk to Refocus After Referendum

WISCONSIN – As reported by the (Madison, Wisconsin) Capital Times: "Minutes after Ho-Chunk President George Lewis conceded that Dane County residents had rejected his tribe's bid to turn the DeJope bingo hall into a casino, he said the Ho-Chunk Nation would refocus its attention on developing the 46 acres it owns surrounding the facility.

"The final results of the vote were: NO93,530 Yes51,543 Ho-Chunk's revenue-sharing agreements with the city and county - which would have provided each municipality with about $3.5 million a year if a casino had opened at DeJope - included a clause to prohibit the tribe from opening anything at DeJope that would compete with the Alliant Energy Center or Monona Terrace Convention Center.

"It would have also prohibited Ho-Chunk from building a convention center of more than 10,000 square feet at DeJope or a theater venue of more than 3,000 seats.

"The absence of an agreement, however, expands Ho-Chunk's options, he said.

"…In his concession comments, Lewis stressed Ho-Chunk's deep roots in the region and said the tribe would continue to operate DeJope as a bingo hall…"

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