Advertisement Potawatomi doesn't make annual payment to state of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the missed payment is impacting state budget Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Forest County Potawatomi has refused to make its annual casino revenue payment to the state because the tribe feels it will be owed money if Gov. Scott Walker approves a plan for a competing casino in Kenosha.VIDEO: Potawatomi withholds paymentWalker's office noted that the tribe had failed to make the payment in an update he sent to Democratic legislators on his process for deciding whether to approve the Menominee Nation's plans for the new casino in Kenosha.The Potawatomi, which runs a casino just up Interstate 94 in Milwaukee, and the Ho-Chunk Nation, which operates casinos in Black River Falls and Madison, oppose the Menominee's plans. They fear a competing casino would draw customers away.Both tribes' compacts with the state call for the state to reimburse them for any losses they suffer from a Kenosha casino. Walker said in his update that his administration has reached a deal with the Ho-Chunk but is still negotiating with the Potawatomi.The tribe has refused to make its annual payment, which was due on June 30, the governor said. It's unclear how large the payment is; the Potawatomi's compact calls for it to pay 6.5 percent of its annual winnings in Milwaukee to the state but those figures are confidential.Walker said in the update he sent to Democratic legislators that the Potawatomi's move "is having a significant impact on the status of the state budget." He did not elaborate."This has already had a negative impact on the current budget and could very well create a problem for future budgets worth hundreds of millions of dollars," Walker said in the update. The governor must decide whether to approve the Kenosha casino by Feb. 19. Democrats have been pressing him to make a decision as the November elections nears. But the governor said he is moving cautiously to avoid creating huge holes in the state budget.Potawatomi spokesman George Ermert issued a statement saying the state could end up owing the Potawatomi money if the Kenosha casino is approved and "consequently, Potawatomi put its 2014 state compact payment into a segregated/reserve account."Michael Beightol, a spokesman for the Kenosha casino project told WISN 12 News it would be inappropriate for the Menominee tribe or Hard Rock team to talk about the missed payment another tribe made. "It is an issue between any tribe and state of Wisconsin as called for legally between the state and the tribe," he said.