SEARCH NEWS:

 

Minnesota Mall Casino Plan Met with Distain

MINNESOTA – As reported by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press: "If Nader Ghermezian expected Minnesota legislators to embrace his plans for a state-licensed casino to subsidize a dramatic expansion of the Mall of America, he got a surprise Wednesday.

"Ghermezian, one of the original promoters of the mall 15 years ago, unveiled his expansion plan Tuesday in Bloomington. Response from top legislative leaders on Wednesday was strongly negative.

"'I'd like to know who's going to vote for it in the Minnesota Senate,' said Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna. 'I don't see a single vote.'

"Dean Johnson of Willmar, the leader of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority in the Senate, used a similar calculus to evaluate prospects for a mall casino. He predicted it would receive no more than three votes in a 14-member Senate gambling committee.

"…Ghermezian briefed Gov. Tim Pawlenty's chief of staff, Dan McElroy, on the proposal in a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Afterward, Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said the governor's gambling plan — a partnership between Indian tribes and the Minnesota Lottery — might mesh with the Ghermezian proposal…"

< Gaming News