Tribes Kick Off Gambling Campaign Initiative Would Allow Unrestricted Tribal Casinos, Payoff For Voters

Washington voters would reap as many economic benefits as tribes if they approve an initiative in November removing gambling restrictions at tribal casinos, organizers of the ballot measure said Friday.

At a time when federal money for tribes is shrinking, letting state Indians manage casinos freely will create more jobs and higher incomes for reservation residents, said Spokane Tribe member John Kieffer.

Members of the Spokane, Puyallup and Shoalwater Bay tribes gathered on the West Side and in Spokane to formally launch the Yes on I-651 campaign.

“We are the poorest of the poor. And while Congress debates pros and cons of health care, Medicare and welfare, we’re out here trying to do something to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps,” said Shoalwater Bay tribal leader Herb Whitish during a news conference at Riverfront Park.

Washington law sets limits on the hours and types of gambling taking place across the state and on reservations. Spokane Tribe members and others say they should have the unrestricted right to set their own limits.

Spokane Tribe board member Buzz Gutierrez insisted the key issue is allowing tribes the right to operate slot machines.

“That is the game of choice right now, and we don’t think the state has the right to monopolize that activity,” said Gutierrez, co-owner of a casino in Chewelah.

State officials prohibit all slot machines. The Spokane and Colville tribes, however, have installed slot machines while both sides wait for court decisions to solve the dispute.

“This is the first time Indian tribes have challenged the state’s authority on gaming and gone straight to the state’s voters to end the dispute,” said Russell Lafountaine, the I-165 campaign manager.

Money from unrestricted gaming would benefit tribes by being spent on tribal schools, roads, clinics and other programs, said tribe members.

State residents would gain through creation of more jobs, increased state tax revenues and by an annual set-aside of a 10 percent portion of Indian gambling revenue for state residents.

Initiative sponsors said the set-aside plan would take 10 percent of participating tribes’ gambling income and distribute it to all state residents who voted in the previous general election.

Critics have called that plan a form of buying votes.

Initiative 651 foes include some state tavern owners, members of the Christian Coalition and a number of non-profit groups who say they could lose money they get from their own gambling operations.

Asked why only three of more than 20 state Indian tribes have take a visible role in the initiative, Lafountaine said: “When you have 26 sovereign governments, it’s no surprise you don’t get full support on any one issue,”

Other tribes back the initiative and may take a public stance before the November election, he said.

, DataTimes