Four Winds, Gun Lake Employees Furloughed During Shutdown

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This week, employees at four tribal casinos located on the west side of the state of Michigan will be added to the extensive roster of unemployed workers.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, Gun Lake Casino in Wayland and three Four Winds Casinos in southwest Michigan made the decision to grant their employees short-term furloughs, despite providing them with compensation for several weeks.

Effective Monday, Four Winds, owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, has placed nearly 1,500 employees on furlough at three Michigan locations and one Indiana casino.

After receiving a full pay for four weeks, a significant number of employees at Gun Lake, managed by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, will be furloughed this Friday.

Despite not being under the control of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the state’s tribal casinos are affected by her recent executive order, which mandates the closure of numerous public facilities until April 30.

Tribal casino furloughs

In addition to South Bend, Indiana, Four Winds can be found in Dowagiac, Hartford, and New Buffalo.

In a notification to the state of Michigan, Chief Operating Officer Frank Freedman conveyed that the closure is of a temporary nature, and the exact reopening date remains uncertain. He further assured that once a date is established, all employees will be summoned back to their positions.

The statement explained that the closure was caused by unexpected business circumstances and a natural disaster, making it impossible to give advance notice.

According to an email received by Playinmichigan, Gun Lake has confirmed that they will continue to offer benefit coverage for their furloughed employees. Additionally, the company has applied for unemployment insurance on behalf of these workers.

Bolo wrote that the provision of this benefit aims to alleviate stress and provide assistance when dealing with the unemployment system amidst the pandemic.

About 3,000 mid-Michigan casino workers furloughed

In an email to Playinmichigan, CEO Mike Bean stated that Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant and Saganing Eagles Landing Casino & Hotel in Standish have compensated all employees for the initial two weeks of the shutdown. However, the majority of their 2,800 workers are currently on temporary leave.

According to Bean, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe facilities will continue to provide medical benefits to employees until May 31, with no specified date for reopening.

Michigan’s largest tribal casino is Soaring Eagle, boasting over 210,000 square feet of gaming space.

Detroit casino workers already furloughed

Thousands of workers from Detroit’s three casinos, Greektown Casino-Hotel, MGM Grand Detroit, and MotorCity Casino, will be among the estimated one-fourth of the state’s workforce who will be unemployed.

The casinos provided paid leave to their employees for approximately two weeks upon closing in mid-March. However, by April 1, they had to temporarily lay off their workforce. All three establishments have committed to providing benefits until June 30, as they remain optimistic about reopening by that time.

According to The Associated Press, over a span of three weeks, more than 800,000 initial claims were filed in the state, making it the second-highest number in the United States.

Some tribal casinos still paying employees

Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel in Williamsburg, Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge in Peshawbestown, and five Kewadin Casinos in the Upper Peninsula have assured their employees that they will receive continuous payment throughout the shutdown.

In Michigan, the maximum weekly payout from state unemployment is $362. However, as a response to the pandemic, the federal stimulus provides an additional $600 per week to unemployed individuals. Moreover, the state has extended the duration of benefits from 26 weeks to 39 weeks.

Michigan’s staggering COVID-19 totals increased on Tuesday with the addition of 166 deaths and 1,366 new cases. The overall count now stands at 1,768 deaths and 27,001 cases.

As part of the latest order from Whitmer, struggling bars and restaurants received some relief on Monday as the state announced its intention to repurchase unopened alcohol bought prior to March 16.

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