Quinaults Ready For New Casino Ocean Shores Site Is First To Get State Approval
A crossroads in Grays Harbor County is set to make the transition from country flea market to bustling casino.
Gov. Mike Lowry said he will sign a gaming agreement today with the Quinault Indian Nation that will authorize the first state-approved casino located outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation.
The Quinaults plan to build their casino on Indian land in an area known as Hogan’s Corner, located 12 miles south of their reservation on the coastal road that heads into the resort town of Ocean Shores. The land currently is occupied by a flea market.
The tribe hopes the casino will create jobs, provide money for tribal programs and scholarships and spur economic development in neighboring areas. Ocean Shores officials have told the state that the casino would be a boon to a resort area that has trouble attracting visitors in the off-season.
Lowry already has signed gaming compacts with 18 other tribes under the 1988 federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The compacts regulate the types of gaming allowed, the number of games, hours of operation and amount of wagering.
However, the Quinault agreement invokes a section of the federal law that allows tribes to operate casinos on their reservations or on land held in trust before 1988. Quinaults have owned the land since the late 19th century.
The Quinaults’ casino actually will be the third off-reservation facility in the state, but the only one permitted by law.
Two other Washington tribes, the Colvilles and the Spokanes, opened off-reservation casinos without approval from the state, which so far has been powerless to stop them because federal laws don’t allow state enforcement. That dispute is being argued in the federal courts.
The state Gambling Commission, which negotiated all the compacts, is downplaying the significance of the Quinault agreement, since that tribe is the only one with eligible trust land.
Instead, the commission is monitoring developments with the tiny Kalispel Tribe, which has about 250 enrolled members and a small reservation 40 miles north of Spokane. Last month, the tribe announced intentions to build an off-reservation casino in suburban Spokane on land it purchased a few years ago - after the 1988 deadline set by the federal law.
Initial plans call for a $17 million, 50,000-square-foot casino with tables games, a restaurant and a 600-seat bingo hall.
If approved by the state and federal governments, that could spur rural tribes to buy land in more prosperous urban areas for casinos.
“That would create a huge precedent,” Gambling Commission spokeswoman Carrie Telefson said.
The Quinault casino still needs final approval from the U.S. Interior Department, which so far has rubberstamped other compacts.
The compact’s terms would limit betting to $250 per wager at 31 tables open 112 hours per week during the first six months of operation. After that, limits could increase to $500 per wager at 52 tables open 140 hours per week.
Approved games would include blackjack, roulette, craps and off-track betting, but no slot machines or video poker.
The Quinaults agreed to contribute 2 percent of the casino’s profit to local governments to compensate for services such as law enforcement and transportation. Winnings from two tables would be devoted to charities.
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