The way things look right now, the Sault Tribe (Michigan) will get to finally use their casino for what it was intended for. After filing for an injunction from the U.S. District Court and getting some feedback from Magistrate Judge, Timothy Greeley, it appears the Sault Tribe is one step closer to being permitted to move table games and slots from a temporary structure into their main casino floor while litigation with the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) continues. Gaming activities on the casino floor could be opened to the public as early as August.

The current controversy all began when the NIGC ruled the tribe's Kewadin Shores Casino sits upon two tracts of where at least one of these tracks does not qualify as reservation land. And in order for the Sault's to conduct legal gaming business, both tracts must be designated as reservation lands by the NIGC. The Sault tribe, however, says their land does qualify and filed a lawsuit on November 8, 2006 to prove it. More recently, the tribe moved for a preliminary injunction on May 24, stating they would suffer great economic losses if they could not conduct gaming from their casino.

According to Judge Greeley's statements, in addition to the NIGC not providing a reasoned explanation as to why the tribe's land was not given reservation status, the NIGC was very tardy in responding to the tribe's request to resolve the matter. Greeley said the NIGC's explanation was anything but uniform and consistent. He went on to say that the tribe had presented sufficient evidence showing the losses it has incurred as a result of not being permitted to operate their casino.

The most telling of all of Judge Greeley's statements was when he concurred that public interest supports the request for an injunction to operate the casino. Greeley has given his own recommendation to the court that if the Sault Tribe is not given an injunction, the evidence shows they will "suffer irreparable injury".