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Bay Mills Appeals Decision To Close Vanderbilt Casino

The Upper Peninsula Indian tribe that owns a small casino in Vanderbilt has filed an appeal in federal court. Leaders of the Bay Mills Indian Community say their casino, north of Gaylord, is legal and on Indian land. They argue a federal judge was wrong to shut the casino down earlier this week.

The preliminary injunction issued Tuesday shutters the casino, while the courts determine whether or not it's legal. Judge Paul Maloney opined Bay Mills has little chance of winning the case. But the tribe contends Maloney's reasoning is flawed.

Bay Mills is being sued by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, which runs a larger casino in nearby Petoskey, and by the state of Michigan. They say Bay Mills should not have circumvented a state-and-federal approval process when it opened the casino last November.