Tribe Bypasses State, Asks Federal Panel To Approve Casino

Tue., Jan. 10, 1995

Associated Press

The Puyallup Tribe, frustrated with efforts to win state approval for a gambling casino near here, is asking the National Indian Gaming Commission for the go-ahead.

With efforts to negotiate a tribal-state agreement at an impasse, the tribe is contending it qualifies to operate a proposed blackjack and poker casino under a grandfather clause in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

Several state officials oppose the bid for approval by the national commission, said Frank Miller, director of the state Gambling Commission.

“The state’s perspective is, it could be a large-scale operation without regulation,” he said. “Our aim all along has been to have a meaningful partnership with the tribe.”

Tribal attorney Carlos delos Santos said the tribe only wants to move forward with the project.

“We just hope we can develop something suitable for the community and the tribe on the reservation,” delos Santos said. “We have high hopes, but there are a lot of political pressures out there.”

The Indian gaming law, which requires tribe-state agreements for casinos, exempts tribes that operated games before May 1988.

The Puyallups contend they were considering running such a game at that time, although no games actually were operating, delos Santos said.

State officials will argue that merely thinking about operating games doesn’t qualify for an exemption.

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