Tribe Blasts State’s Seizure Of Slot Machines Shipment Worth $400,000 Not Part Of Expansion, Colvilles Say
Colville tribal leaders lashed out at the state Tuesday, accusing it of illegally seizing 96 slot machines bound for the tribe’s casino near Lake Chelan.
Tribal attorneys claim the state Gambling Commission lacks the authority to interfere with any aspect of the Colvilles’ gaming activities.
About $400,000 worth of slot machines was seized from two trucks Friday night as they crossed the Idaho border into Spokane County.
The machines were destined for the Colvilles’ Mill Bay Casino in Manson, Wash., according to a tribal statement.
The slot machines were ordered to replace and upgrade equipment and didn’t signal an expansion of the facility, the statement said.
The state asserts it has the authority and duty to seize any shipments of illegal slot machines on state roads, regardless of where they are headed.
The tribe is studying the details of the seizure before deciding whether to go to court to get the slots back.
Tribal attorney Steve Suagee said the Colvilles need to determine where the claim would fit into the ongoing legal wrangling over the state’s efforts to regulate tribal gaming.
Tribal Chairman Joe Pakootas said the seizure showed the state’s hypocrisy and refusal to heed federal rulings that the state lacks jurisdiction with the Colvilles right now.
By seizing the slots, “the state Gambling Commission is evidently trying to do through the back door what federal law has already told them they can’t do through the front door,” Pakootas said.
Carrie Tellefson of the Gambling Commission said the Colvilles weren’t the target of the slot machine bust in the first place.
“If we get a tip, we will seize the devices regardless of where they are going,” she said. “We didn’t know where they were headed until we stopped the trucks.”
Pakootas defended the Colvilles’ gaming activities, which includes a new casino near Grand Coulee.
“Our gaming harms no one, helps many and is perfectly legal,” he said.
In a similar case, the state intercepted a delivery of 55 slot machines to the Spokane Indian Reservation two years ago. The Spokanes tried unsuccessfully to convince a judge to force the state to turn them over to the reservation.
, DataTimes