Dealing From The Bottom? Gambling Commission Accused Of ‘Mean-Spirited’ Campaign Against Casino Suppliers

The state Gambling Commission is engaged in a “mean-spirited” campaign against companies that supply tribal casinos, the Colville Confederated Tribes charged Wednesday.

Threatening letters already have deprived the tribal casinos of two suppliers, according to Wendell George, president and chief executive officer of Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp.

“Luckily, we had more than one vendor so we are still able to get supplies,” George said.

One of those suppliers was a Las Vegas company that provides playing cards for blackjack tables at the tribes’ three casinos. The cards have special features designed to prevent cheating.

The second company quit providing bingo supplies.

The Wenatchee Business Journal also got a letter in December, warning that advertisements for the Colville Tribes’ casinos were illegal.

“Our intent is to follow the law and, as I understand that, it means not promoting slot machines,” said Jim Corcoran, co-publisher of Business Journal newspapers in Wenatchee, Everett and Bellingham.

Corcoran said the publications are “walking a pretty fine line” between satisfying casino advertisers and the Gambling Commission. The result, he said, is that a picture of a slot machine was removed from an ad in the Wenatchee Business Journal.

“Everybody in the area knows the slot machines are there,” Corcoran said. “It seems pretty silly not to include the slot machines in their ad, but if that is the law, we’re willing to go along with it.”

Gambling Commission spokeswoman Carrie Tellefson said the agency has no direct authority over newspapers - which, like The Spokesman-Review, routinely accept casino ads. The commission just wants publishers to be aware of the law, and is focusing its attention on licensed gambling industry suppliers, Tellefson said.

“Suppliers and service providers that are licensed to operate in the state of Washington are going to have to make a choice,” she said. “If they wish, they can choose to turn in their licenses and do business in some other arena.”

Tellefson said one company, Washington Gaming Inc., did exactly that several years ago. Tellefson said warning letters are sent routinely, and the Colville tribal casinos aren’t being singled out.

Eric Endy, president of Paul-Son Gaming Corp., the Las Vegas company that supplied the cards for blackjack, said he wasn’t familiar with the Gambling Commission’s Dec. 23 ultimatum to his company, but he wouldn’t have considered it harassment.

“The bottom line is that, if the tribe does not have a compact with the state, then the state of Nevada Gaming Commission takes the position that they are operating illegally,” Endy said.

George disputed the Washington Gambling Commission’s assertion that Colville and Spokane tribal casinos are operating illegally because they have slot machines.

“We feel our situation is being handled by the courts and we are operating legally under the federal system,” George said.

He contended slot machines remain legal under federal law pending final resolution of a lawsuit involving the Spokane Tribe.

Colville Tribes Chairman Joe Pakootas called the commission letters to suppliers “inappropriate and mean-spirited.”

“The commission should call off this assault on vendors and engage in a meaningful dialogue with us regarding their regulatory concerns,” Pakootas said.

, DataTimes