On the 28th May 2015, it was reported that next month ground could be broken for a casino that will be in Lloydminster, Canada and is worth $20 million. This came after the project was voted in favor of by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN).
Wayne Semaganis, the Little Pine First Nation chief said that he is thankful as he has spent 5 years chasing this and it will mean employment and revenue for the people. He also said that he is hoping the doors of the casino will be open by spring 2016.
The development will be in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. On the Saskatchewan side of the city, the casino?will become the centerpiece of destination including?a 250 room hotel and convention center with 1500 seats.
The main investors in the project are Little Pine and the Onion Lake Cree Nation, but there are 10 other investors from Saskatchewan First Nations as well.
Over the last few years the plan has been held up over and over. At first, Semaganis wanted to finance and control the casino outside of the agreement that is between the provincial government and the FSIN. This structure though was not approved by the chiefs so the casino will now fall under the agreement.
The other requirements are being worked on by Semaganis. A zoning and servicing agreement with the Lloydminster city council will receive part of the profits and the request for the transformation of the land into an urban reserve is in process.
All that was left was to get the approval from the chiefs and now that they have it they are sure that the provincial government will also approve.
All of the First Nations casinos in Saskatchewan are governed by the structured agreement that is reached by the provincial government and the FSIN. This agreement states that all casinos need to be operated under the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority.
A quarter of all casino profits go to the provincial government.