Batt’s Rebuff Seals Tribe’s Plans For Track Coeur D’Alenes Drop Horse Racing Idea After Governor Expresses Opposition
After Idaho’s governor opposed it, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe dropped the idea Tuesday of bringing horse racing to Post Falls.
But it was the possibility that the tribe also might bring in casino-style gambling “of questionable legality” that especially troubled Gov. Phil Batt.
In a letter Monday to tribal Chairman Ernest Stensgar, Batt spoke out against even legal forms of gambling. He said they always promote crime, hurt families and have “a tendency to impoverish those willing to gamble before taking care of essential expenses.
“In good conscience, I cannot accelerate this unwise trend,” Batt wrote.
His letter effectively killed the tribe’s proposal.
Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a tribe developing gaming operations outside of reservation boundaries needs local, state and federal approval.
The tribe was considering buying the defunct Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park and using the track for horse racing. The facility is being used for betting on off-site dog and horse racing as well as for bingo to benefit charities.
The plan included moving the tribe’s own bingo operation, with its 140 employees, from Worley to Post Falls. The Worley bingo hall would have been used for offices for the tribe’s proposed National Indian Lottery.
Tribal officials discussed their proposal with Batt last week.
“He told us he would act quickly, and he has,” Stensgar said Tuesday. “We disagree, but we also expect to continue a good working relationship with the governor.”
In his letter, the governor thanked Stensgar for “your frank description of your plans regarding the track. Those plans include the use of gaming machines which are of questionable legality.”
In a Tuesday press release, Stensgar did not mention casino gambling. He focused on the economic impact of the tribe’s proposal.
“We hoped the governor would want 2,500 more jobs in our region, but obviously he doesn’t,” Stensgar said.
He didn’t elaborate on the number of jobs but did say that the tribe “found widespread support in Post Falls” for the idea.
Post Falls Mayor Gus Johnson said Tuesday that he didn’t have a problem with horse racing.
“My concern was the casino gambling. The element that brings is sometimes not desirable,” he said.
He also was concerned that any land acquired by the tribe would be taken off the tax rolls because it becomes an extension of the reservation.
Tribal officials were scheduled to explain their proposal at a city workshop on Thursday. Johnson hadn’t been informed late Tuesday of any plans to cancel the workshop.
Dog racing in Post Falls ended last year at this time. Sagging attendance was blamed in part on the increasing opportunities to gamble at Indian bingo halls around the region.
, DataTimes