Gregoire backs casino pact

OLYMPIA – Despite pushback from some lawmakers, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday that she’ll likely sign a proposed compact to allow the Spokane Tribe of Indians up to 4,700 slot-style machines at as many as five casinos.

“I’m delighted they finally did come to the table,” Gregoire said at a weekly meeting with reporters at the Capitol. “They have stayed the course and negotiated in good faith.”

Asked if she would sign the compact as it is now, the governor responded, “I haven’t thoroughly reviewed it, every jot and tittle of it, but the parameters that I’ve heard about, yes I would.”

Tribal public relations director Jamie Sijohn said Monday night that tribal council members were traveling and couldn’t be reached for comment. The Spokanes, who first asked for a state agreement 18 years ago, are the only remaining tribe in Washington to offer gambling without a compact.

The proposed agreement does not include allowing the tribe to set up an off-reservation casino on land the Spokanes own near Airway Heights. That plan must first win federal approval – rarely granted in such cases – then go back to Gregoire for a decision.

“I’m not approving them doing that without them going through the federal system,” the governor said.

Some prominent lawmakers from both parties have suggested that the compact is too generous and will spark similar requests from other tribes.

“If the governor’s compact is approved, it will lead to a large expansion of gambling throughout the state,” Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, predicted last week.

Ericksen noted that voters rejected three gambling initiatives, in 1995, 1996 and 2004.

The proposed compact allows cash-fed slot-style machines as well as high-stakes betting for pre-approved high rollers, both a first in Washington. It would also allow the Spokanes the second-highest number of slot-style machines of any Washington tribe, after the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

In fact, the Spokane compact “is almost a mirror of the Colville compact,” the governor said Monday. The Colvilles could have up to 4,800 machines at the tribe’s existing three casinos and three future mini-casinos, although Colville tribal attorney James Bellis said the tribe has so far never used more than 675 machines.

Gregoire said she doesn’t like gambling and its societal consequences. But, she said, the tribes are entitled to this economic opportunity under federal law. Although gambling will likely expand as a result of the deal, she said, she’s obliged to negotiate with the tribes in good faith.

Gregoire – who as attorney general sued the tribe for offering gambling without a state compact – had rejected an earlier draft compact that would have allowed more machines.

At a hearing last week, lawmakers criticized the proposal, saying it “rewards” a tribe that has long used slot machines that the state contended are illegal. (The tribe’s attorneys, citing a federal court ruling, say the machines are and always were legal.)

Lawmakers, however, have very little say in the matter. Only the few who are members of the state gambling commission – including Rep. Alex Wood, D-Spokane – will get to vote early next month when the commission decides whether to recommend approval by the governor. Regardless, the governor has final say.

A handful of Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Larry Crouse, R-Spokane, want to change that. House Bill 1257 would require legislative approval of tribal gambling compacts with the state. But so far the bill hasn’t been scheduled for a hearing.

“The Legislature represents the view of people around the state,” said Ericksen. “Giving the governor this much closed-door authority deprives citizens of a voice.”