November 23, 2009
Members of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York are split on plans to pursue an off-reservation casino.
The tribe held a referendum on Sunday to ask members about the proposed Catskills casino. The project was rejected by a 178 to 140 vote.
The tribe has been seeking a casino in the Catskills, about 90 minutes north of New York City, for more than a decade. The Bush administration rejected the project in January 2008 under a new policy that makes it nearly impossible for tribes to acquire land away from existing reservations.
Tribal leaders hope the Obama administration adopts a new policy that will favor off-reservation development.
Get the Story:
Community says no to casino
(The Cornwall Standard-Freeholder 11/23)
Empire Resorts Tumbles on Increased Volume (The Street 11/23)
"California resident J.D. won over $50,000 playing video poker online this year. Wow! She couldn't do that well in Las Vegas, and at home she can play anytime without having to drive for hours. Plus, she can play any number of different "machines" without waiting for one of them to be free. But J.D. spent over $40,000 before cashing out $50,000. Are her losses deductible?
First, a brief overview.
Online gambling offers advantages to both casual hobbyists and serious gamblers. After all, you never have to sit next to a smoker, you aren't subject to the casino cacophony, and you can take a break without worrying about someone stealing your machine.
But the legality of online gambling in the U.S. is not really clear. There is no overall federal law that defines illegal gambling. So whether your playing is legal is defined at the state level. Some states -- including Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, South Dakota and Washington -- have explicitly outlawed online gambling or some form of it. Other states have no specific law addressing Internet gambling.
You've probably heard of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and Regulation GG which became law in 2006 and become effective on Dec. 1. That certainly sounds like a federal law that makes Internet gambling illegal, doesn't it?
Ironically, this law turns bankers into policemen and forces them to enforce a non-law. Banks are required to return or block illegal-gambling deposits into their clients' accounts, or even to close accounts.
However, the UIGEA doesn't define unlawful Internet gambling. In fact, there is so much dispute over the definition that the House financial services committee wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke asking them to delay enforcement of the UIGEA for one year, until Dec. 1, 2010. See the letter.
Congress is battling over outlawing online gambling altogether, or limiting it to certain games. At present, the only thing that's clear is that online sports betting is illegal."
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Marketwatch:Online Gambling Poses Tax Conundrum
(The Wall Street Journal 11/23)
The casino owned by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe is donating 300 turkeys to a food bank in Idaho.
Employees at Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel learned the Coeur d'Alene Food Bank didn't have enough turkeys to meet the need this year. So management decided to take action.
"We all recognize the importance of putting food on the tables of those in need," CEO Dave LaSarte-Meeks told the Associated Press.
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CdA Casino to donate 300 birds for Thanksgiving
(AP 11/23)
Four city council members in San Jacinto, California, have been indicted as part of a sweeping 155-count indictment into government corruption, tax fraud, bribery and perjury.
The four have consistently opposed plans by the Soboba Band of Luiseño
Indians to move the Soboba Casino to a new location. A fifth council member -- who wants to work with the tribe on the issue -- is the only one who wasn't indicted.
Steve Di Memmo, who says his indicted colleagues should resign, helped the Soboba Band prepare for its annual toy drive last week. "He's really involved in the community," tribal council member Rose Salgado told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The tribe's land-into-trust application is pending at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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Sole unindicted San Jacinto councilman looks ahead, not back
(The Riverside Press-Enterprise 11/23)
The Danbury News-Times paints a gloomy financial picture for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation and the Mohegan Tribe, whose gaming facilities have been hit hard by the national recession.
The Pequots are about to default on a $500 million loan payment. The tribe has more than $2 billion in debt incurred from the operation and expansion of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
The Mohegans aren't doing any better, the paper says, though the tribe just refinanced some of the $1.6 billion it carries from Mohegan Sun. But investors are getting more out of the casino than the tribe, according to the paper.
Since 2000, Solomon Kerzner and his partners earned $542 million while the tribe only earned $425 million, the paper said. Payments to investors have remained steady even as revenue falls at Mohegan Sun.
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Tribes teeter on financial brink
(The Danbury News-Times 11/22)
As revenue falls, tribe's investors now making more than Mohegans draining assets of Mohegan tribe (The Danbury News-Times 11/22) Foxwoods loan deals with Malaysian, Vegas investors raise concern, worsen debt (The Danbury News-Times 11/22)
State's take on slot revenues declines (The Danbury News-Times 11/22)
November 20, 2009
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan shared over $700,000 in gaming revenues with local governments and school districts.
The tribe distributes 2 percent of slot machine revenues twice a year. “This is just one way we can help the people in our area,” Chief Fred Cantu told WNEM-TV. “It’s something we are happy and proud to do.”
Recipients included the Arenac Eastern School District, which plans to use over $100,000 for computers and other projects. Arenac County plans to use $80,000 for housing and improvement projects.
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Chippewa Tribe Gives Away 2-Percent Money
(WNEM 11/19) Tribe doles out more than $700k at two-percent distribution (The Arenac County Independent 11/19)
People are still visiting casinos in California but they are spending less, a situation that's not expected to improve until the middle of next year.
The region that includes California saw a 5.8 drop in tribal gaming revenues last year. That was the biggest drop in Indian Country.
"Everything around us is so depressed, so the tribal gaming is depressed," Deron Marquez, a former tribal chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, told The Los Angeles Times.
The Times visited the San Manuel casino and one owned by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Players were clamoring for penny and 25-cent slot machines, along with lower-dollar table games, the paper said.
"We have the same amount of people and they come in as frequently, but they are just spending less," Mike Hiles, a tribal information officer for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, told the paper.
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Recession is in play at California's tribal casinos
(The Los Angeles Times 11/20)
The Cowlitz Tribe of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon hope the Obama administration will advance their casino projects.
The Cowlitz Tribe has a final environmental impact statement in its favor. But the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Carcieri
v. Salazar has prevented the Interior Department from approving a land-into-trust application, a tribal leader said.
We are fairly confident even though we weren’t federally recognized until 2002, we were still under the jurisdiction of the federal government in 1934,”Vice Chairman Phil Harju told Indian Country Today.
The Warm Springs Tribes expect a final environmental impact statement for its off-reservation casino to be released soon. But the Obama administration hasn't said what it will do about a Bush-era policy that makes it nearly impossible for tribes to acquire land away from existing reservations.
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Casino projects await Interior decision
(Indian Country Today 11/20)
George Skibine, center, at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
George Skibine, the acting chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, told Indian Country Today he's not applying for a permanent job at the agency.
Skibine, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, was appointed acting chair in October. Under federal law, he can stay in the post for 210 days.
But Skibine told attendees of the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas that he expects President Barack Obama to nominate a permanent chair much sooner. He said a decision might come as early as the end of this year.
Skibine will return to his leadership position at the Bureau of Indian Affairs after his stint at NIGC.
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Skibine is ‘setting the table’ for the next NIGC chair
(Indian Country Today 11/20)
November 19, 2009
"Under Gov. Brad Henry, here’s what passes for economic development. The Kaw Nation is about to build a new casino in Braman, Okla., just north of Blackwell, very close to the Kansas border.
The tribe has 21 acres on Interstate 35 at the intersection of U.S. 177, five miles south of the Kansas state line. They want to build a 36,000-square-foot (about the size of a small Wal-Mart) casino and hire 200-250 employees. Kay County has already said yes, as has the mayor of Braman and neighboring Indian tribes. I can’t imagine any of them objecting to this “economic development.”
Gambling is hurting the social fabric of Oklahoma. In Tulsa County, probate filings are down about 150 from 2008. That probably because the net worth of some Oklahomans is dwindling due to gambling losses.
And the gambling “windfall” for public education is way short of predictions.
You reap what you sow. Oklahoma better hope for a “crop failure” when it comes to gambling."
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Editorial: More casinos thanks to Henry [second item]
(The Tulsa Beacon 11/19)
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation of Connecticut is set to default on a $500 million loan, a move that could affect the tribal gaming market.
"The Mashantucket situation could set a precedent," Moody's Investors Service said, The Financial Times reported. "With casinos such as Foxwoods located on sovereign tribal land potentially out of reach of US bankruptcy law, it remains unclear whether creditors could enforce their rights."
The tribe reportedly owns more than $2 billion in debt incurred from the operation and expansion of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
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Troubled casino to test extent of tribal sovereignty
(The Financial Times 11/19)
Foxwoods financial troubles worries lawmakers (NECN 11/18)
Commercial casinos in Louisiana saw a 6.9 percent drop in revenues last month, the Associated Press reports.
Louisiana has 13 riverboat casinos, one land-based casino in New Orleans and three racinos. The facilities took in $193.3 million last month, down from $207.7 million in October 2008.
Commercial casinos face competition from three Indian gaming facilities in the state. Tribal casinos in Oklahoma have been drawing more gamblers from Texas who might otherwise go to Louisiana.
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La. casinos see 6.9 percent revenue dip
(AP 11/18)
November 18, 2009
David Barnett, a member of the Cowlitz Tribe of Washington who is helping his tribe develop a gaming facility, was in serious condition after being injured in a car accident on Monday, The Columbian reports.
Barnett, 49, was thrown from a pickup truck and was found unconscious. The driver of the vehicle was not injured, but is under investigation because she may have tried to hurt Barnett on purpose, the King County sheriff's office said.
The accident occurred only five blocks from Barnett's home, the paper reported. Barnett and the driver lived together, a sergeant said.
Barnettt bought the land where the tribe wants to build the Cowlitz Casino Resort. He owns a percentage of the partnership that will operate the casino.
Barnett is the son of the late John Barnett, who led the tribe for more than 20 years. John Barnett died last year.
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Cowlitz casino developer injured in auto crash
(The Columbian 11/18)
November 17, 2009
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) kicks off today in Las Vegas, Nevada. About 25,000 people are registered for the event, the largest gaming conference in the world.
Tribal leaders and Indian gaming experts will be among those presenting at the conference. The agenda includes sessions on land-into-trust, financing, the Obama administration and gaming compacts.
Here is the schedule for the Indian gaming track at G2E.
KEEP READING: Indian Gaming Track at Global Gaming Expo
The Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians of California reported an 8 percent drop in gaming revenues in the last quarter.
The tribe said it took in $29.7 million at River Rock Casino.That's down from $32.3 million for the same period in 2008.
Amid the decline, the tribe is spending $5.2 million upgrade the casino. The tribe also cut back the number of slot machines, from 1,571 to 1,1911.
"We weren’t getting the maximum performance out of them," CEO Scott Garawitz told The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
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River Rock revenues fall again
(The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat 11/17)
Connecticut's two federally recognized tribes reported a drop in slot machine revenues for the month of October, though the downward trend appears to be slowing.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation, owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, won $54.8 million on slot machines. That's down about 4 percent from October 2008, an improvement over the double-digit declines the tribe has seen over the past year.
The Mohegan Tribe, owners
of Mohegan Sun, won $62.9 million. That's down 3.8 percent from last year, also another improvement from the past year.
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Mohegan Sun reports increased slot income
(The Norwich Bulletin 11/17)
Slots half full: Pace of revenue decline slows (The New London Day 11/17)
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut was unable to make a full payment on its gaming debt on Monday and said it won't be able to do so within a 30-day grace period.
The tribe owed $21.25 million interest payment on a $500 million note, according to news reports. The tribe was only able to pay $14.2 million.
“The tribe does not currently anticipate the remaining amounts due will be paid within the grace period,” the tribe said in a statement, local media reported.
The tribe has been trying to restructure more than $2 billion in debt incurred from the operation and expansion of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The tribe said the facilities won't be affected by its financial woes.
The New York Post reported that billionaire Leon Black has been buying some of the Foxwoods debt. His private-equity firm owns Harrah's.
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Mashantuckets set to default on loan payment
(The Norwich Bulletin 11/17)
Mashantuckets likely to default on key payment (The New London Day 11/17)
Black's crapshoot (The New York Post 11/17)
November 16, 2009
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians says tribal members who live off the reservation should not pay state taxes on gaming-related income
The tribe distributes revenues from the Spotlight 29 Casino to its members under a federally-approved revenue allocation plan. Some members also work at the casino.
The tribe says California is violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by imposing a tax on gaming-related income. But the state says only tribal members who live on the reservation are exempt from taxation.
Turtle Talk has posted briefs for the case.
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Inland tribe sues state over having to pay income tax
(The Riverside Press-Enterprise 11/14) Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz
The Pinoleville Band of Pomo Indians of California is moving forward with a casino project.
The tribe plans to build a casino on 8.8. acres north of Ukiah. Groundbreaking is expected in the late spring or early summer of 2010.
"We have been planning for about nine years on this one project," Vice Chairperson Angela James said at a meeting held by the tribe, The Ukiah Daily Journal reported.
Kennec Earth Engineering and Science is preparing an environmental impact report for the casino. Company representatives expect its release in a couple of weeks.
The tribe was terminated by an act of Congress in 1966. The tribe was restored to recognition in 1983 as a result of the Tillie Hardwick case.
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Pinoleville updates casino plans
(The Ukiah Daily Journal 11/14)
"Mayor Dave Bing shouldn't bet Detroit's financial future on casinos, even with poker champ and hometown hero Joe Cada riding an $8.55-million jackpot.
Detroit's three state-licensed casinos are feeling the recession's pinch, and the opening of four casinos in nearby Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati won't strengthen their position in a maturing market.
This is no time for the city to get more addicted to casino revenues. Instead, Bing must continue to right-size city government while pursuing a more sustainable economic development strategy.
Revenues at the Greektown, MGM Grand Detroit and MotorCity casinos have been recession-resistant, but not recession-proof. Revenues fell nearly 1% in October from a year ago, though they were up more than 6% from September. Casinos have done a lot better than most Motown businesses, but revenue growth has slowed over the past year. With more competition and no end to in sight to the local recession -- make that depression -- it would be reckless for the city, facing at least a $300-million accumulated deficit, to count on casinos to save the day. Nor should it rely more heavily on their tax revenue."
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Editorial: Casino revenues won't save Detroit
(The Detroit Free Press 11/14)
"Florida House Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater are right about the governor's proposed Seminole gaming compact. It's a bad deal for Florida.
The compact is intended to enhance state revenues with annual tribal payments, but it creates a de facto monopoly that will stifle competition in the gaming market in Florida.
Gov. Crist's stated intention is to increase revenue for Florida's educational system. But the compact actually weakens this goal by foreclosing potential additional revenue from non-tribal facilities and granting the tribe several "outs" on their payment obligations.
Essentially, the compact grants the tribe statewide Class III gaming exclusivity, except for existing pari-mutuels, specifically the seven Miami-Dade and Broward County pari-mutuel gaming venues (including Hialeah Park). Under the proposal, if any pari-mutuel located outside of Broward and Miami-Dade is granted additional gaming rights, the tribe's annual calculated financial obligation to the state is fully removed. Further, a back-door provision prohibits pari-mutuels from transferring or moving their gaming operations. In contrast, the tribe has full rights to move and expand within its jurisdictional reservation under the proposed compact.
While an approved compact would automatically lower the onerous 50 percent gaming tax rate to 35 percent — compared to the 100 percent exemption on tribe receipts — the compact further favors the tribe by calculating financial obligation for the tribe and the pari-mutuels using different formulas. The tribe's financial obligation, calculated as a sliding scale percentage of its net win, is significantly less than the rate imposed on pari-mutuels. Furthermore, the tribe does not pay sales, tourist or property taxes, so its overall tax rate remains much lower than non-tribal facilities."
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Alan B. Koslow: Seminole compact deals Florida a bad hand
(The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 11/15)
November 13, 2009
"It’s time for Florida to face a fundamental fact: We’re a gambling state; have been for years.
So why shouldn’t racetracks be allowed to offer full-scale casino gambling, and local voters have the power to permit casinos elsewhere, if that’s what they want.
They should, and guess what? For the first time, it appears broad casino legislation has a chance of passing the Legislature, because of the apparent collapse of efforts to pass an Indian casino pact.
Seminole tribe leaders got greedy. They wanted exclusive rights statewide to Las Vegas-style games at their casinos, including Immokalee.
The exception would be in Miami/Dade and Broward counties, where slot machines are already approved by voters under a state constitutional amendment. Gov. Charlie Crist agreed to it, saying the state would get a $6 billion share of Seminole revenues over 20 years.
Fortunately, the state’s ailing racetrack industry raised a ruckus, and legislators listened. Racetracks need expanded casino gambling to stay alive, and they deserve the right to offer it."
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Editorial: Time for real casinos in Florida
(The Fort Myers News-Press 11/13)
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin is out millions of dollars on failed casino boat, The Lakeland Times reports.
The tribe owned a 28.5 percent stake in Grand Soleil LLC. The partnership planned to use the Players Riverboat III for casino in Natchez, Mississippi.
But the boat was recently sold for as little as $250,000. It was originally purchased for $2.75 million, the paper reported.
"We really didn't know that it was on the market. There had been talk about a land-based casino, but no decision had been made," President Carl Edwards told the paper.
The deal was questioned by some tribal members, who said it contributed to a tribal financial crisis last year.
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LdF band allegedly loses millions after plans for casino boat sink
(The Lakeland Times 11/13)
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe of Washington says its new casino is doing better than expected.
The 7,000-square-foot Elwha River Casino features 120 electronic gaming machines, a snack bar and gift shop. It opened in March and the tribe is already adding more machines to the facility.
"Things are going better than projected, especially since we are in a remote location,” marketing manager Joni Eades told Indian Country Today.
The tribe hopes to expand the casino but is waiting on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve a land-into-trust application for another site.
“If it becomes available sooner we certainly will be willing to move sooner,” Eades told ICT. “We’re filling up this footprint rather quickly.”
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Small casino prospers in rough economy
(Indian Country Today 11/13)
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