Indian Country Today Gaming

WASHINGTON – The National Indian Gaming Commission has announced a one-year extension for tribal gaming authorities on implementing new Class II gaming regulations.

LANSING, Mich. – Another showdown is brewing over whether Michigan horse racetracks should be allowed to open casinos in an effort to revive their struggling businesses.

VALLEY CENTER, Calif. – Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort has diverted more than 400 tons of recyclables, reduced Styrofoam use by 25 percent and cleaned up more than eight miles of San Diego County beaches. These conservation efforts are the result of the employee driven Green Committee, which meets bi-weekly in support of the company’s CODEGreen Commitment.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) – The new Snoqualmie Casino hasn’t turned out to be the jackpot the tribe expected.

HARTFORD, Conn. – In the past month amid flagging slot revenues at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced a “huge and historic” settlement that netted the state $25 million more from slot revenues at the two Indian casinos, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation added a one percent sales tax to purchases at its facilities.

Talking Stick isn’t a stick and doesn’t talk. It is the newest of several enterprises owned and operated by Arizona’s Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Talking Stick Resort, opening early 2010, is the latest piece of an active puzzle for the nearly 9,000 tribal members sandwiched on 50,000 acres surrounded by several rapidly-growing Southwestern communities like Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa and Fountain Hills.

WASHINGTON – The National Indian Gaming Commission recently announced new technology available to tribes to obtain background information on prospective license applicants. Through a new system called Tribal Access Portal, tribal gaming regulators engaged in issuing gaming licenses will be able to check whether a license applicant has a history with any other gaming tribe. Along with information provided by the NIGC/FBI fingerprint submission service, the TAP results will help tribes complete a comprehensive background investigation of prospective license applicants.

TULALIP, Wash. – Tulalip Resort Casino, in the Pacific Northwest, has been honored with the AAA Four Diamond Award. Nationally recognized as one of the most coveted symbols of excellence in the hospitality industry, the AAA Diamond Rating System describes a property’s level of service, comfort, cleanliness and safety.

EL CAJON, Calif. – The betting windows are taking wagers as Sycuan is back in the horse racing industry. It opened a state-of-the-art Off-Track Betting facility inside its casino Aug. 17.

As Native Americans, we tend to be social people. This can easily be demonstrated in our cultural ceremonies and in our family and community oriented social events. Not only do we have a strong need to be around one another, but we seem to thrive best in groups. We also look to one another for support and guidance. It is important that we feel connected, as most of us place the greatest value in our association to our families, communities and tribal nations. It is easy to understand how building strong professional relationships can go a long way in supporting Native business success.

LOS ANGELES – California is vast Indian country with 263,000 Indians, according to Census data. Many are so-called urban Indians – reservation members living away from traditional homes – partially the remnants of the Indian Relocation Program of 1956 that encouraged rural Indians to take jobs and residences in cities. Others are local Indians, members of the more than 100 federally recognized tribes across California.

WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. – Less than one year after opening the doors to its new casino, Cherokee Casino West Siloam Springs is moving forward with an upscale seven-story hotel tower as planned.

LAWTON, Okla. – The fate of an out-of-state gaming operation hangs in the balance as tribal and federal representatives figure out the Fort Sill Apache’s New Mexico recognition status, an interpretation that could help the tribe establish an off-reservation gaming site.

WASHINGTON – The Yakama Nation has been issued a notice of violation from the National Indian Gaming Commission and could face fines of up to $25,000 a day per violation for distributing per capita payments to its members last Christmas before getting approval from the Interior Department.

LEDYARD, Conn. – A Massachusetts man who lost his leg in an accident at Foxwoods Resort Casino in 2006 received a $2.9 million award in what may be the largest personal injury claim ever negotiated in a tribal court.

SANTA FE, N.M – Noted legal scholar and Native American gender studies expert, Christine Zuni Cruz, has made her case against what she calls a striking case of sexism in the advertising of a Pueblo tribe’s casino. And she’s won.

TULSA, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation has taken entertainment to a new level in Oklahoma. On Aug. 3, the tribe opened the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, a $155 million expansion and renovation of its former Cherokee Casino Resort. The new resort is the seventh Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in the world, and the first in America’s heartland.

A government contingent led by Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. met with high-ranking federal officials and Sullivan County representatives Aug. 26 to discuss the nation’s efforts to bring Class III gaming to the Catskills.

LAS VEGAS – Frank Fertitta Jr., the founder of casino operator Station Casinos Inc. who retired when his sons took the company public in 1993, has died. He was 70.

The pending agreement between Kien Huat Realty III Limited and Empire Resorts is welcome news to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. Tribal officials hope the change is a positive one that will move the project forward.