Image provided by: Hannon Library, Southern Oregon University; Ashland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2008)
News from Indian Country Page 9 Spilyay Tymoo January 17, 2008 Kansas tribe opens casino, discounts legal challenge K A N S A S C IT Y , K a n . (AP)— It took 11 years, b ut the O k la h o m a -b a s e d W y a n d o tte N ation finally opened its dow n to w n 7 th S tr e e t C a s in o o n T h ursday night. W h eth er it stays o p en is still un kn o w n as state o fficials co n tin u e to p ursue a d ecad e-lo n g le g a l fight. S ta n d in g b e fo re a p a c k e d house, C h ief Leaford B earskin co n ducted a pipe cerem o ny and then joined M ayor Jo e R eardon in cutting the ribbon and w el co m in g guests into the fo rm er M asonic lodge that has un der gone a S20 m illio n facelift into a 1920s-them ed speakeasy. “B eing here tonight, it makes m e feel like I’m com ing home,” Bearskin told the crowd, noting the tribe first came to Kansas in 1843. “We w ant to welcome you to our casino,” he said, adding with a smile, ‘W h e n you come _ bring money.” The nation opened a more-lim ited casino on the site in 2004, h o u sed in a series o f m o b ile homes. T hat operation was raided and quickly closed by state and local law enforcem ent, claiming the tribe had no right to offer gam bling on the property. W hile a federal appeals court sided w ith the W yandotte N a tion last fall, state officials said T h ursday they still b elieve the casino is illegal. ‘W e think it’s som ewhat irre sponsible to be opening this ca sino when there are questions that are still pending on the legality of the g am b lin g o p eratio n ,” said M ike Leitch, deputy Kansas at torney general for civil litigation. T h e trib e’s atto rn ey, D avid Iowa casinos on pace this year for record revenues JO H N S T O N , Io w a (AP)— Iowa’s casinos are m ak in g m oney at a record pace, though analysts are concerned that m ost o f the facilities are seeing flat or declin in g rev enues this fiscal year. Iowa’s 17 state-licensed fa cilities— three race tracks and 14 riv erb o at casin o s— co l lected $700 million in adjusted gross revenues from slot m a chines and table gam es in the first h alf o f fiscal 2008. The num ber represents a $43.1 million increase from the sam e July-D ecem ber period a year ago and puts the industry on pace to break the record $1.32 billion set last year. M eanw hile, 12 o f the fa cilities are seeing reduced or stagnant revenues, raising con cerns diat the Iowa gam bling m arket m ay be topping out. T h e r e v e n u e a t th r e e Io w a tracks w as d o w n $4.6 m illio n fo r th e f ir s t s ix m o n th s o f fiscal 20 0 8 , and n in e riv e rb o a ts p o ste d fi n an cial n u m b ers in the red. O verall, how ever, receipts at Iow a’s riverboat casinos are up by nearly $47.4 m illion this year, acco rdin g to figures co m piled by the state R acing and G am ing Com m ission. T h e b ig reaso n for the in crease has b een Iow a’s new est or upgraded casinos, in cluding the Isle C asino & H otel in W a terloo, w h ich generated n early $38.7 m illio n since opening in late Jun e. T he Riverside Casino & G o lf R e s o rt, so u th o f Io w a C ity, posted a $15.2 m illion increase in th e Ju ly -D e c e m b e r p erio d over the p revio us year, w h ich in clud ed o n ly fo ur m onths o f business after the facility opened on L abor D ay w eekend in 2006. “T h ose all have elevated the totals as to w hy w e’re 7 to 8 p er cent up,” said Jack K etterer, ad m inistrator o f the state R acing and G am in g C om m ission. “I f y o u rem o v ed the g ain s fro m those facilities and looked at the rest, th ey’re flat or down.” Iowa also has three casinos operating on Am erican Indian lan d n ear T am a, Slo an and O nawa that are not subject to state regulation. T he R acing and G am ing C om m ission has p u t o ff any d e c is io n u n til M a r c h o n w hether to accept m ore ap plications for state gam in g li censes. T he hope is to have enough tim e to study the fi n ancial im p act o f n ew casi nos on existing operations. C o m m ission C h air K ate C utler o f C ouncil B luffs said the panel plans to allow in terested com m unities— m ost n o ta b ly O ttu m w a , F o rt D odge and Tam a— to m ake th eir cases at th e M arch 6 m eeting for expansion. “ T h e r e a l q u e s tio n is w h e th e r w e fe e l w e ’ve r e a c h e d th e s a tu r a tio n point,” she said. C u tler said the co m m is sio n ers m ay o rd er an o th er ec o n o m ic im p a c t stu d y if M cC ullough, has denied th at a legal challenge is still pending. B ut Thursday was a night to celebrate for tribal m em bers who have planned a casino for the site since buying the form er Scottish Rite temple and surrounding half acre o f land in 1996. “W e’re very glad to get to this point,” said Second C h ief B illy Friend. “It’s been v ery frustrat ing. W e feel like w e’ve alw ays follow ed the rules and w e w ere the only ones doing that. It was very satisfying.” T h e th r e e -s to r y b u ild in g , w h ic h a ls o in c lu d e s a s te a k h o u s e , fe a tu re s aro u n d 400 C lass II w ag erin g gam es, w hich play like slot m achines but pit players against each other in networks based on bingo odds. The Class II is a limitation of federal Indian gam ing laws, but Friend said the tribe has sought form al n ego tiatio ns w ith Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for a compact that would allow regular Class III slot m achines and table gam es. Sebelius has said she wouldn’t con sider the com pact until the legal issues are resolved. T h e state co n ten d s th at the m o n e y th e trib e u se d to b u y th e la n d w a s n ’t a llo w e d fo r su ch p u rp o se s , d is q u a lify in g th e lan d for a casino. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October ruled that a legal challenge o f the casino came after the land had been placed into trust by the federal governm ent on b eh alf o f the tribe, thereby insulating the governm ent from the state’s lawsuit and leaving the federal courts with no jurisdiction. The diree-judge panel agreed and dism issed the case. B U Y - SELL - T R A D E - C O N S IG N Cascade Exchange 898 S.W. Highway 97, Madras NEW AND PRE-OWNED MERCHANDISE WE DEAL IN: C om b us|< B e a d e d B ags In d ia n A rtw o rk A U5-4367 (in i’s Repair 2 4-Hour Towing & Auto Sales Free towing w/engine or trans replacement from Warm Springs & Madras area Approved Auto Repair A INTERSTATE BATTERIES K. 475-6618 330 S.W. Culver Hwy. Madras, OR 97741 Free Battery Check & Installation with purchase 2
