Tulalip Tribes To Donate $100,000 From ‘Charity Tables’

The Tulalip Tribes and the state Gambling Commission have resolved a dispute over proceeds from two “charity tables” at the tribe’s gambling casino.

The Tulalips have agreed to pay $100,000 to a nonprofit gambling-addiction organization. That resolves the issue to the satisfaction of the commission, which had accused the tribes of “misappropriation” of funds.

The contribution does not represent an admission of wrongdoing, tribal spokesman John McCoy said Tuesday.

The commission had determined that the tribes’ two “charity tables,” which allowed them to operate beyond the 50-table limit, had distributed nearly $167,000 to some tribal members.

Under the tribes’ compact with the state, proceeds from the two tables were to go to local, non-tribal charities, commission director Frank Miller said.

Since 1992, the tribes have given more than $700,000 to local charities, including the United Way, the Little Red School House and the YMCA.

McCoy said the money at issue was most often given to tribal members who had nowhere else to go for help.

“There was the problem of what our definition of charity was, because tribes really are an extended family,” McCoy said, adding that since the tribes operate fewer than 50 tables anyway, they are relieved of the charity requirement.