In the early 1980s long-term economic problems on Indian reservations
led several Michigan Indian tribes to seek tribal revenue and jobs for
tribal members by opening large-scale bingo operations. Several tribes
considered moving beyond bingo halls and opening Las Vegas style
casinos. But casinos clearly violated state law. Like most states in
this period, Michigan banned virtually all forms of gaming. In Michigan
the state allowed only the state lottery, authorized by the voters in
1972, bingo, betting at horse races, and a variety of casino-like
activities used by charitable organizations at so-called "Las Vegas"
night fundraisers. In the early 1980s casino gambling was illegal in
Michigan, as it was in every state except Nevada.
Eventually an individual tribal member of the Keweenaw Bay
Indian tribe, Fred Dakota, personally challenged the state's right to
regulate Indian gaming. In January 1984 Dakota opened a casino named
"The Pines," that consisted of a lone blackjack table located in his
two-car garage. Dakota's personal action was quickly followed by the Bay
Mills Indian Band, which opened the first tribal-sanctioned casino in
the state on July 4, 1984 in Brimley. Later in 1984, the Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa & Chippewa opened a casino in Peshawbestow. In the
years immediately following casinos were opened by the Keweenaw Bay
Indian Council (Baraga, opened 1985), the Sault Ste. Marie Band of
Chippewa Indians (St. Ignace, opened 1985), Hannahville Potawatomi (Near
Harris, 1985), Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (Mount Pleasant, card
games introduced into Bingo Hall, 1985), and the Lac Vieux Desert Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa (Watersmeet, 1987)