Gambling Initiative On A Roll 32,862 Signatures Collected In Two Counties In Six Days

There will be “no problem whatsoever” getting a spot on the fall ballot for a statewide initiative to allow wide-open gambling on Indian reservations, backers say.

People circulating petitions for Initiative 651 collected 32,862 of the 181,667 signatures required in just six days this week in King and Pierce counties, campaign manager Russell Lafountaine said.

And the July 7 deadline is still six weeks away.

“We’re 60 percent over our projections already,” Lafountaine said. “We will have no problem whatsoever getting this on the ballot.”

The measure, which would eliminate state authority to regulate tribal gambling, is sponsored by the Puyallup, Spokane and Shoalwater Indian tribes.

Nearly all the campaign funds so far have come from the Spokane tribe, which had donated $60,000 by May 10, according to state Public Disclosure Commission records.

And most of the money has gone to Tacoma political consultant Sherry Bockwinkel and her subcontractors, who are paid for each signature they gather.

Under federal law, Indian tribes are supposed to reach gaming agreements with the state before opening casinos. None of the three sponsoring tribes has such a compact, but the Spokanes are operating a full casino with slot machines despite a federal government lawsuit that seeks to shut it down.

I-651 would essentially sidestep the lawsuit, said Jon McCoy, assistant state attorney general and chief legal counsel for the Washington State Gambling Commission.

If the measure passes, tribes could install slot machines - currently barred by the state - remove limits on bets, increase the size and number of casinos and keep gambling halls open 24 hours a day.

The initiative also includes a plan to return 10 percent of net revenues from slot machines to voters.

Initiative supporters say anyone who voted in the most recent general election could expect to receive an annual check for as much as $100. Opponents dispute that, saying such a return would require gross slot-machine revenues of more than $2 billion a year.