From The Bellingham Herald:
Nooksack tribal chairman tells members its Deming casino could close
This week, Nooksack Indian Tribal Chairman Bob Kelly called the first public meeting in roughly three years to inform members of the possible closing of the Nooksack River Casino.
The casino was renovated using about $15 million in loans that the Nooksack Business Corporation, an entity owned by the tribe, made payments on for only a year before going into default.
The legal process between banks and the tribal entity has gone on since early 2011, partly due to questions of whether local courts had jurisdiction over the case.
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Deborra Garrett ruled on May 7 that Outsource Services Management, a loan servicing company, could collect nearly $20.1 million on the loan and fees, to increase by more than $3,500 in unpaid interest per day.
During a community meeting Tuesday night, June 16, Kelly told tribal members that the casino could close depending on which assets the court ruled Outsource could collect on, said Michelle Roberts, a Nooksack tribal member and one of roughly 300 people potentially facing disenrollment from the tribe.
I know nothing about what is going on in the tribe or the people involved but, this place always seemed to be managed poorly.
They spent a lot of money on remodels that never really did anything. The did a major overhaul on their market centre, restaurant and bar but the quality of food did not keep pace (stopped eating there years ago - used to be good). They did a big promotion featuring Robbie Knievel. They built (and expanded) a brand new casino in an out-of-the-way location close to the Canadian border. There are a lot of Canadians that come to gamble but the casino is far from any border crossing.
It would be really stupid to close the casino as this is a major source of employment for the area and the creditors would be much better served arranging a payment plan than killing the golden goose and never seeing their money. This also sends a message to anyone thinking of 'investing' in a tribal casino - the market is saturated and overdue for a shakeout. They can survive but they need to get a great leadership team in their immediately and get things turned around.
