Hit hard by COVID-19 shutdowns, Native American tribes with casinos are taking a closer look at diversifying their portfolios.
FILE — Slot machines at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel, owned and operated by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, are seen in Battle Creek, Mich., Aug. 5, 2019. The casino shut down in the early months of COVID-19 pandemic, but the financial impact was blunted in part by the tribe's non-gambling businesses, including a firm involved in drone development for the federal government that was deemed "essential.
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut for three months in 2020, its owners, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, had to reckon with decades of relying heavily on gambling as the tribe’s main source of revenue. “The fact that the casino revenues went from millions to zero overnight just fully reiterated the need for diverse revenue streams,” said Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler.
The 1,000-member tribe has since expanded its efforts to get into the federal government contracting business, making it one of several tribal nations to look beyond the casino business more seriously after the coronavirus crisis. Tribal leaders and tribal business experts say the
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