Fond–Du–Luth is a one–of–a–kind native casino...in the heart of downtown Duluth.

A rare site to see in a downtown area...but possible because of an agreement the Fond–du–Lac tribe made with the city in the early 90's it's able to stay.

As LeAnn Wallace reports, the agreement has mutually beneficial and the city of Duluth is planning now to continue benefiting from casino revenue.

In 1986 the casino opened under an agreement with the city and the Fond du Lac Tribe as a place to play bingo and pull–tabs.

"Which was at that time an old Sears building that they renovated and gutted out, started all over and that was how everything started, and things changed over time with the Indian Gaming Acts and some things that were passed by congress and I believe in '93 or '92 things changed, the tribe took over."

The casino's downtown Duluth location is unique, as it's the only native casino in the nation located in a metropolitan area.

"Part of the casino's uniqueness is the agreement with the city...19–percent of all slot machine revenue goes to the city."

"We're using those funds to invest in the infrastructure of our community, we've got a lot of work that needs to be done, on providing that base infrastructure, improving our underground sewer infrastructure including our streets and roads in the city."

To date, slot revenue has added 60–million dollars to the street improvement program, but unrealistic market expectations in the early 90's left the city using some of the monies to pay off bonds...hence only being able to repair point–nine miles of road this year.
Still, Mayor Ness says the agreement has been beneficial for both the tribe and the city and hopes to continue a strong partnership, while at the same time exploring additional approaches to increasing street improvements.

"Less reliance on debt, more firm numbers we can count on, so we're not playing this roulette game and just hope that money will be available or that we're get this certain amount of return you know in 15 years from now."

Fon–du–Luth is also looking towards the future... with tentative plans to expand and remodel.
In Duluth, LeAnn Wallace, the Northlands News Center.

The Fon–du–Luth casino is celebrating its 23rd birthday next week with a free all–ages concert in front of the casino.