Hard Rock signed on as Kenosha casino developer and manager

The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin has signed Hard Rock Cafe International Inc. as the developer and manager of the tribe's proposed casino in Kenosha, according to a source who wished to be unnamed.

Hard Rock is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and has developed casino-hotels in California, Las Vegas, Florida and Mississippi, as well as Macau and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It was also working on a hotel-casino in West Springfield, Mass., but voters rejected the proposal last month. An official announcement on the Kenosha casino is expected Thursday.

The $808 million off-reservation casino planned for the former Dairyland Greyhound Park property is expected to be a 100,000-square-foot gaming facility with 3,100 slot machines and 75 table games. The complex is expected to built out in phases.

The U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Menominee tribe's proposal for an off-reservation casino in Kenosha in August, despite not having a developer and management firm in place.

The federal government's decision sends the proposal to Gov. Scott Walker for final approval. Walker has conditioned his approval on the plan receiving consensus support from Wisconsin's 11 federally recognized Indian tribes, among other criteria.

To date, seven other tribes have backed the Menominee's plan, but the Forest County Potawatomi Community, which operates a lucrative casino in Milwaukee and is concerned about losing a flow of gamblers from Illinois to the Kenosha casino, is vigorously opposing the effort.

The Ho-Chunk Nation, which has casinos near Madison, Wisconsin Dells and around central Wisconsin, and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, with casino near Green Bay, are also not supporting the project.

Reported by:  Greater Milwaukee Business Journal