Lansing's Mayor Virg Bernero is pleased with Wednesday's Michigan Supreme Court's decision to keep the casino proposal off the November ballot. The measure could have allowed eight casinos to pop up across the state, including one in DeWitt.
"When I heard it, I jumped right off my chair. This is great news for Lansing," said Mayor Virg Bernero.
Bernero says this means the city will get a better shot at moving forward with its own casino plans.
"The last thing we need is that kind of competition right at our doorstep," said Bernero. "This could've had the effect, if they would've beaten us to the punch, so to speak, of really drawing people out of the center city."
Meanwhile, others don't agree with the mayor or the court. Members of the Citizens for More Michigan Jobs say they're disappointed people won't vote on the issue.
"DeWitt's losing out as much as the other host communities. This would've been a great new local job provider, it would've been a new revenue stream, it would've been a new tourism scene for the whole Lansing community," said Spokesperson Emily Palsrok.
She added, "We want to change how gaming is structured in Michigan, change the way that private casinos are taxed. We want to increase the tax so communities that host casinos can benefit more than they currently do."
However, Bernero says those opportunities don't belong in DeWitt.
"It needs to be in the heart, it needs to be in the center, and that means downtown Lansing," said Bernero. "I'm hopeful and optimistic that we will get our project completed before such an issue comes back again... we are moving forward full steam with the downtown casino."
The Citizens for More Michigan Jobs estimates if the measure passed on the November ballot, the eight casinos would've created 20,000 jobs and generated more than $360 millon for the state.
