July 2, 2009
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) expects to finalize a Class III gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe by August 31, a member of the negotiating team said.
The Florida Legislature passed a bill to authorize negotiations. But a lawyer for the tribe has raised concerns about revenue sharing, exclusivity and limits on table games.
Despite the concerns, a lawyer for Crist believes the tribe will come to the table. "The tribe is extremely professional and I believe they will work in good faith to get something done, as opposed to failing to reach an agreement," George LeMieux, who is part of the negotiating team, told The Miami Herald.
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Gov. Charlie Crist resumes gambling talks with Seminoles
(The Miami Herald 7/2)
"230
Number of gaming tribes nationwide, operating 425 gambling enterprises in 28 states
26.5 billion
Indian gaming revenue, in dollars, 2007
40
Percentage of this money generated by the 62 top casinos in California and Connecticut
55
Percent increase in per capita income in California gaming tribes between 1990 and 2000
14
Percent of total Indian casinos nationwide this 62 represents
15
Percent increase for California non-gaming tribes, 1990-2000
12,526
Average per capita income on gaming reservations in California in 2000, 53 percent of the national average"
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In Focus: Indian Nations
(Capitol Weekly 7/1)
July 1, 2009
The Shinnecock Nation of New York is moving closer to federal recognition but observers say it could be years before the tribe opens a casino.
If the tribe gains recognition, it will need to have land placed in trust before pursuing gaming. The process could take several years to complete.
Even with trust land, the tribe would have to negotiate a compact with the state to operate Class III games such as slot machines and card games. "Things take a long time to happen," tribal trustee Fred Bass told The East Hampton Press.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed to issue a preliminary decision on the tribe in December. A final decision is expected in mid-2010.
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Shinnecock Casino a highlight at state conference
(The Southampton Press 7/1)
A lawmaker in Michigan said it is "fruitless" to pursue a casino for the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
State Rep. Matt Lori (R) said state laws must be changed before the non-recognized tribe casino can open a casino. But he said there was no "political will" to do so at this time.
"From my point of view, it would be fruitless to continue pursuing legislation that has very little hope of succeeding at this time," Lori said Tuesday in a statement. "Rather than give people false hope, I think we need to move on to find another solution."
The tribe has unsuccessfully sought federal recognition.
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State unlikely to change gaming laws to pave way for Sturgis casino, lawmaker says
(The Kalamazoo Gazette 7/1)
Lori: Casino a longshot (The Sturgis Journal 7/1)
"The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska closed a casino it operates near Onawa, Iowa, Tuesday, laying off about 185 employees.
Jim Hunt, general manager of CasinOmaha, said the tribal council decided to close the casino after the National Indian Gaming Commission recommended its closure because of violations of commission regulations.
The commission oversees gaming activities on tribal lands across the United States.
Hunt characterized the violations as infractions on commission “processes and procedures,” but he declined to go into greater detail about the violations.
“We’ve had a couple violations with that organization, and we’ve corrected them,” he said.
He said the commission’s recommendation the tribe close the casino did play into the tribe’s decision. He said the tribe also considered “current business conditions” and plans to reopen the casino as soon as possible."
Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Omaha Tribe closes Iowa casino
(The Lincoln Journal Star 7/1)
More Coverage:
CasinOmaha shuts down (The Sioux City Journal 7/1)
Onawa Indian casino suspends operations (The Des Moines Register 7/1)
Omaha Tribe closes casino (The Omaha World-Herald 7/1)
CasinOmaha Closes Its Doors Due to Money Concerns (KPTH 6/30)
"When the Mohegan Indians first started building their casino in the late 1990s, G. Michael Brown, the tough New Jersey lawyer who helped mastermind the development of Foxwoods for the Mashantucket Pequots, scoffed at plans for a major new road linking Mohegan Sun to Route 2A.
Brown called it, with no small amount of derision, the Mohegans' $30 million driveway.
In those days, when the market was still sopping up what seemed like an endless supply of new gambling dollars, the Pequots wouldn't spend $30 million on building anything that didn't house more slot machines.
The race was on.
I couldn't help but think, when taking the Pequots' new Route 2 bypass for a test spin this week, up and over and right past Foxwoods, at 50 mph, that it was too bad Brown wasn't around to dissuade the tribe from this $67 million boondoggle.
While the Mohegans' original road project cleverly linked their casino to the interstate system - from New York or Boston directly to Mohegan Sun, without a stoplight - the Pequots' new four-lane highway only connects at either end to the old two-lane Route 2.
Its best use seems to be to hurry traffic right on by the resort.
It does this pretty well."
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David Collins: Pequots Dedicate Highway To Nowhere
(The New London Day 7/1)
The Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe made good on its casino deal with the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts.
The tribe made a $250,000 installment as part of a 2007 agreement with the town. So far, the tribe has paid $1 million for casino planning and infrastructure improvements.
The tribe says it is committed to opening a casino in Middleboro but some town officials are worried about the project's future.
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Tribe makes $250K payment to Middleboro
(The Brockton Enterprise 7/1)
June 30, 2009
The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska has closed its Class III facility in Iowa, resulting in the layoffs of 185 employees.
Operations at CasinOmaha will be suspended indefinitely while the tribe renovates the facility. Employees were told this morning.
"We understand the impact of this decision on our employees and guests,'' general manager Jim Hunt said in a statement, The Sioux City Journal reported. "But we are certain to reopen with a much improved casino -- a casino that will be fun, entertaining and a better chance to win.''
The tribe opened the facility on trust land in Iowa in 1992.
Get the Story:
Western Iowa tribal casino suspends operations
(The Sioux City Journal 6/30) CasinOmaha to suspend operations (KTIV 6/30)
"Let's hope the Alabama Supreme Court quickly resolves the question of electronic bingo once and for all -- if nothing else to end the war between Gov. Bob Riley and Attorney General Troy King.
The two officials' ongoing dispute over gambling is exhausting.
The most recent public dispute centers on a letter King received in 2004 from the National Indian Gaming Commission that Riley says should have spurred the attorney general to shut down electronic bingo halls like the one operating at VictoryLand in Macon County.
"The attorney general didn't do that, and the end result is a proliferation of these illegal slot machines that we now see all over the state," Riley told The News.
The letter said federal gaming investigators found evidence that some of the electronic bingo devices being played in Macon, Greene and Lowndes counties were more akin to Las Vegas-style slot machines.
But King said the distinctions under Indian gaming rules aren't as clear as Riley suggests, and besides, they have nothing to do with the laws of Alabama, which vary from county to county.
"It appears the governor has formed faulty conclusions based upon misinformation, or a lack of accurate information," King said.
Still, the letter from the National Indian Gaming Commission raises questions. How did King go from reading the letter to concluding that electronic gambling in places like VictoryLand was legal bingo? Why did he use what he now says are ambiguous Indian rules to justify his unambiguous conclusion?"
Get the Story:
OUR VIEW: Alabama courts need to resolve quickly the fight over electronic bingo
(The Birmingham News 6/29)
Earlier Story:
AG Troy King, Gov. Bob Riley spar over bingo report (The Birmingham News 6/28)
Residents of a town in Massachusetts turned out by the thousands to vote for a casino deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe in July 2007.
Two years later, some in Middleboro are beginning to think a casino will never come. They cite the tribe's decision to cancel a deal with investors and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri
v. Salazar, which could negatively affect the tribe's land-into-trust application.
"I have so many hours in the day, and how do I want to spend them? Do I want to spend them going after something that to me looks like a long shot?" selectman Stephen McKinnon said at a recent town meeting, The Cape Cod Times reported.
The tribe plans to negotiate a new deal to proceed with the casino. Tribal leaders also believe they won't be hurt by the Supreme Court decision although they didn't gain federal recognition until May 2007.
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Casino deal loses its luster
(The Cape Cod Times 6/29)
With the economy still in a recession, the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut is luring customers with the promises of good deals.
In addition to free concerts and $5 table games, Mohegan Sun is offering seven economy-friendly hotel packages this summer. Even eateries at the casino have lowered prices.
“We call it the stimulus recovery," Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess told The Norwich Bulletin.
The tribe has seen double-digit drops in slot machine revenues over the past year.
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Eastern Connecticut casinos offer bargains in hopes of attracting tourists
(The Norwich Bulletin 6/29)
Three tribes are still interested in off-reservation casinos in the Catskills region of New York despite hurdles at the state and federal level.
The Seneca Nation of New York, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin sent representatives to a meeting last week. All three hope to open casinos in the Catskills, about 90 minutes north of New York City.
The Bush administration rejected the Mohawk and Stockbridge-Munsee applications, saying the gaming sites were too far from the tribes' respective reservations. The Obama administration hasn't stated its views on off-reservation gaming.
Get the Story:
Sullivan casino players still in the game (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 6/30)
Monticello 'gambling dream' fighting long odds (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 6/28)
June 29, 2009
The Obama administration has until Wednesday to file a response in an off-reservation casino lawsuit.
The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin sued the Interior Department for rejecting the proposed casino in Beloit. The Bush administration said the gaming site was too far from the reservation.
The Obama administration hasn't stated its views on off-reservation gaming. But the Bureau of Indian Affairs is reviewing prior decisions and policies on the issue.
The St. Croix case will be heard by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Casino complaint deadline nears
(The Beloit Daily News 6/27)
The Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians won't deny that is interested in building an off-reservation casino in southern California.
But the tribe says its land-into-trust application for 16 acres is not about gaming. Plans call for a medical and day-care center.
“The purpose of it is economic development,” tribal chief executive Willie Micklin told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “It's ineligible for gaming, and it's not tied to any gaming projects because we don't have one.”
Local officials aren't buying the tribe's story. Neither is the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, whose leaders have clashed with the Ewiiaapaayp Band over gaming.
The 16-acre site sits across the road from another Indian health clinic. The Ewiiaapaayp Band says it has a right to build a casino at the existing clinic.
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Tribe says clinic plan not about gambling
(The San Diego Union-Tribune 6/27)
A California woman who uses a wheelchair says the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The tribe offers a free bus service to the Valley View Casino. Heather Siegel called for a ride but says she was refused.
"I just want to be part of the crowd, just like everybody else," Siegel tells The North County Times.
The tribe offered Siegel a ride in a bus that can accommodate her wheelchair but says she turned it down. "She insisted on riding that bus," casino executive Ric Militi tells the paper. "We explained, but she was not interested."
A gambling law expert said the tribe probably doesn't have to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Disabled woman says casino bus service is lacking
(The North County Times 6/29)
"We believe it is important to correct some grievous errors made in Gary Palmer's opinion piece published June 17 in your newspaper (Alabama Voices, Dangerous Bet). Mr. Palmer's guest column brings to mind the adage that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." He works very hard to connect a court case involving an Indian tribe in New England with our tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. But the comparison is inaccurate, and we cannot allow his opinion piece to stand as fact.
The laws governing Native American lands and their current use comprise a complicated, specialized area of the legal profession that requires years of study and practice before a level of expertise is reached. Palmer's lack of legal mastery is painfully apparent to those who do know the law, the history, and the current cases that affect Indian Country.
Palmer tries to connect the history of our land in Alabama with that of another tribe in New England. But that's like putting grits and lobster on one plate and calling it the same dish. Tribes, like the states they call home, are very different and they have different land use issues.
In fact, the lands where we still live and do business today have belonged to the Creek Indians since before any history was written. We were Alabama's first citizens and we are proud that we helped the earliest settlers make a home here. (More information can be found on our Web site, www.poarchcreekindians.org.) Sadly, like so many other tribes, our ancient lands were taken from us, and many of our fellow Creek Indians were moved to Oklahoma, far from home in Alabama. We, by comparison, were lucky. We retained some of our ancient lands. We also knew the history and location of other property that had been taken."
Get the Story:
Robert McGhee: Indian lands at issue
(The Montgomery Advertiser 6/28)
Earlier Story:
Opinion: Ruling a threat to Poarch Creek gaming (6/17)
"State police have wrapped up an investigation into the death of a 44-year-old Bronx man who was found dead in his hotel room at the Mohegan Sun May 12, concluding, according to a department spokesman, that there was no sign of foul play and no criminal aspect to the case.
The official cause of death, released just recently by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, after the completion of toxicology tests, was that he died of ethanolism, which a spokesperson for the medical examiner said is the same as alcoholism.
They would not release the results of the tests that would have shown just how much alcohol was in his system, because it's considered a private medical record.
A peculiar aspect to the case is that a casino wheelchair was found in his room.
Two questions about the case have been floating around the casino.
Could he have been so intoxicated that someone had to wheel him back to his room? And could the casino, which only recently toughened its policies over the serving of alcohol, after two fatal accidents linked to drinking by casino patrons, have over-served this particular hotel guest to the point of making him fatally sick?"
Get the Story:
David Collins: A Strange Death In A Casino Hotel Room
(The New London Day 6/28)
June 26, 2009
The Obama administration is taking a "top to bottom review" of gaming policy, said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York).
Schumer called Larry
EchoHawk , the new head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, on Wednesday to discuss off-reservation casinos in the Catskills region of New York. He said the EchoHawk promised to review the land-into-trust process.
"I hope that with a new administration we have a new way of thinking about applications that are finite, focused, appropriate for the region, and have strong community support," Schumer said in a press release.
The Bush administration rejected two off-reservation casinos in the Catskills.
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Rouis applauds Schumer request for BIA reconsideration of Catskills casinos
(Mid-Hudson News Network 6/26)
Schumer asked new BIA head to take ‘fresh look’ at casinos (Mid-Hudson News Network 6/25)
The Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe has voted against extending a casino agreement with investors and some are wondering about its arrangement with the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts.
The tribe already paid $750,000 to the town for casino planning. Another $250,000 payment is due next month.
But some town officials and residents are worried the tribe might back out. They cite the canceled investor deal and the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Carcieri
v. Salazar, which could affect the tribe's land-into-trust application.
The tribe says it plans to move forward with the casino and that it will seek to negotiate a new deal with investors.
Get the Story:
Questions linger in Middleboro over casino
(The Brockton Enterprise 6/26)
The Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California has shut down parts of its casino and has canceled all remaining concerts due to safety concerns.
The tribe has closed 45 of the 67 hotel rooms, a restaurant and a conference center at the Jackson Rancheria
Casino. The ballroom, where the concerts were being held, will close after a July 9 show.
"The building official said they were concerned that if a fire did break out in the building, that portions of it wouldn't perform well or might cause fire to travel inappropriately," CEO Rich Hoffman told The Stockton Record, citing long-running problems with the facility.
Last year, the tribe closed part of the gaming floor due to structural defects.
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Lode casino cancels most of remaining 2009 shows
(The Stockton Record 6/26)
"Nine years ago, 64 percent of the California electorate voted to give American Indians a monopoly on casino-style gambling. It was an effort to help lift California Indians out of poverty – all 32,000 enrolled tribal members. The public was assured by state officials that tribal gaming would occur only on established reservations.
The promise of permitting gambling only on Indian lands has been kept. However, the public was not made privy to, and lawmakers did not consider, the complex federal laws restoring Indian groups from a half-century or more ago permitting the creation of Indian lands for gaming.
The Wilton Miwok of Sacramento County is California's latest restored tribe. Not surprisingly, restored tribes are often sponsored by out-of-state or off-the-continent gaming investors. Restored tribes are an exception for gaming that circumvents the intended two-part determination process that empowers a state to manage the location and growth of gambling.
California has more restored tribes and more applications for new lands for gaming than any other state. Controversial casino projects based on claims of restored tribes and lands include Guidiville and Scotts Valley in Contra Costa County, the North Fork in Madera County, the Mechoopda in Butte County, Ione and Buena Vista in Amador County, and the Graton and Cloverdale in Sonoma County – all in or near urban areas.
Gaming investors are exploiting Californians' concern for our state's American Indians. Newly restored tribes and federal laws allowing exceptions for restored lands have created a political vacuum where there is ambiguity and confusion. The profiteers have created or manipulated newly developed Indian tribes to promote gaming in areas that would never have supported gaming expansion."
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Cheryl Schmit: Slick casino maneuvers must be opposed
(The Sacramento Bee 6/26)
June 25, 2009
"The Pala Casino got its LED lights knocked out last week.
As heavyweight bouts go, it was no contest.
Score one for the much-maligned bureaucrats.
This time around, the pencil-pushers showed blazing speed and decisive punch.
Last week, I received an e-mail from Oscar Ortiz, a Fallbrook resident who works in San Diego. As you'll see, Ortiz was pretty fired up:
“I'd like to award a brick to the Fallbrook Community Planning Group for falling asleep at the switch on the Pala Casino billboard at Interstate 15 and Highway 76. How did the front door to our tranquil community get nailed with that symbol of urban blight without any public discussion?
“It's bad enough to think that soon all four quadrants of this intersection will no longer be open meadows and views of serenity and will eventually be mass housing, retail strips, industrial parks and perhaps a satellite college campus.
“Does anyone care what the public wants, or are the public workshops window dressing for what has already been decided behind closed doors?”"
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Logan Jenkins: Casino billboard goes dark after complaints
(The San Diego Union-Tribune 6/25)
"Rhode Island missed its chance to be ahead of the game. The Narragansett Indian casino proposed in West Warwick went down in flames after a carefully organized, well-financed opposition led by some state leaders (the General Assembly, however, supported the people’s right to vote on three separate occasions), the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. We later learned that most of the multimillions spent in opposition to the casino proposal came from Twin River and Newport Grand (mostly the former).
It was simply a case of the haves protecting the haves.
Twin River’s owner, UTGR Inc., a subsidiary of BLB Investors, a partnership consisting of Kerzner International Limited, Waterford Group LLC and Starwood Capital Group, led by South African casino magnate Sol Kerzner (developer of Mohegan Sun), had a lot at stake. In this year alone, it is projected to receive an estimated $107.6 million as its share of the revenue from Twin River.
But perhaps the most insulting aspect of state and business leaders’ opposition to a world-class destination casino was their failure to protect Rhode Island’s fiscal and economic interests. That’s because no one demanded that Twin River’s owners sign a non-compete clause to ensure that they would not build a competing slot parlor or resort casino in a bordering state.
The result of that failure? With Twin River’s owners pleading poormouth with Rhode Island officials for a taxpayer funded bailout, they are simultaneously spending millions of dollars just 25 miles away in Middleboro, Mass., committed to building a $1 billion destination resort casino.
It’s time to let the market take its course. If the owners who have pledged billions of dollars up the road in Massachusetts refuse to inject more capital into Twin River, then bankruptcy seems inevitable. With it, new opportunity will ultimately be afforded the state. Rhode Island could seek a temporary operator and competitively bid for the facility and the valuable license. But it should not stop there. Rhode Island should immediately move to provide full-scale casino gaming at Twin River. But not under the current ownership.
We have two ways to accomplish that. We can use the legislative process to call for a change to the state constitution — a choice that Rhode Island voters have already resoundingly rejected and one that could take years to pass — or we can consider a choice that would catapult us ahead of Massachusetts and stop the bleeding immediately: a partnership with the Narragansett Indian Tribe."
Get the Story:
J. Michael Levesque: Let tribe operate Twin River
(The Providence Journal 6/25)
Another Story: Twin River Seeking Chapter 11 Help (The New London Day 6/24)
Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico wasn't able to make a monthly payment on the $245 million bond for its new casino resort, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports.
The tribe is working with note holders to restructure terms of the deal for the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, the paper said. The missed payment was for nearly $11.5 million.
"We're working with our investors, we're talking about the economic conditions and trying to get through this downturn in the economy," Gov. George Rivera told the paper.
The facility opened last August. The tribe operates another casino and two other hotels.
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Buffalo Thunder misses bond payment
(The Santa Fe New Mexican 6/25)
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