Colorado
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission summarily suspended the casino license of the Virgin Mule in Cripple Creek, forcing the closure of the casino until a hearing on alleged gaming violations committed by the casino was conducted on Feb. 15-16. The commission had issued an order to show cause to the Virgin Mule in November, alleging 22 charges of gaming violations committed by the casino. Three of the four owners of the casino were also issued orders to show cause in November, while a forth, Mohammed (Jim) Shalhout, had his key employee license summarily suspended by the commission after being arrested for an alleged incident at another casino. The order of summary suspension approved by the commission today added new allegations to the 22 original charges in the order to show cause, including allegations Shalhout worked on a slot machine and entered a restricted cashier’s cage after surrendering his gaming license, along with allegations casino owners attempted to coerce an employee to make false statements regarding activities at the casino. The commission also summarily suspended the key licenses of two more casino owners, Thamina Shalhout and Adla Maberry, and amended the order of summary suspension for Jim Shalhout to include the original allegations that he worked under a suspended license. The Division of Gaming facilitated the closure of the casino.
Minnesota
A detailed study released by the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) shows that rural Minnesota communities got the lion’s share of a statewide $429 million in direct economic benefit from 2005 tribal casino employment in the state. The study was conducted by University of Minnesota researchers C. Ford Runge, Ph.D., distinguished McKnight University professor of applied economics and law, and Barry Ryan, M.S. Runge said rural Minnesota derived $285 million in direct economic benefit from tribal casino jobs in 2005, including $211 million in payroll, $65 million in employment taxes, $48 million in healthcare benefits, $10 million in retirement savings, and $4 million in other employee benefits such as child care accounts, education, and tuition assistance. “These figures are particularly significant when you compare casino jobs to other jobs in the rural Minnesota leisure and hospitality industry,” Runge said. The study shows that the 9,100 rural casino employees are more likely than other leisure and hospitality workers to have healthcare and retirement benefits, paid time off, life or disability insurance, and other benefits such as flexible savings accounts and tuition assistance. Tribal casino workers are also more likely to be full-time employees and have higher starting wages than other leisure and hospitality workers. Ryan noted that many rural casinos are the largest or second largest employers in their home counties. Statewide, the $429 million in economic benefits from 12,900 tribal casino jobs include $335 million in payroll, state, and federal employment taxes of $90 million, medical and dental healthcare benefits of $66 million, retirement savings of $15 million and more than $7 million in other benefits such as life and disability insurance, flexible childcare savings accounts and tuition assistance. Over the past six years, new capital investment on tribal lands has been in ancillary facilities such as hotels, marinas, and golf courses, he said, and not in new or substantially expanded gaming operations. Kevin Leecy, chair of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and a member of the MIGA board, said the current study confirms what tribes have known for a long time—that tribal casinos are a major economic asset to the rural areas in which they are located. The complete study will be available soon on the MIGA website, www.mnindiangaming.com.
Washington
Tribal and state negotiators have agreed to submit a tentative compact to the Spokane Tribe’s Membership and the Washington State Gambling Commission. The agreement highlights many issues: the tribe will lead the way in committing financial support to problem gambling and smoking cessation programs; strengthen the regulation of gambling in Washington; maintaining the structure of Tribal-State Gaming Compacts in Washington; continuing the approach of limiting gambling operations; ensuring the tribe is the primary beneficiary of gambling; acknowledging and continuing the tribe’s contributions and investments to the community, which benefits both tribal and non-tribal members; continuing to provide a mechanism for the sharing of gaming revenues with other tribes; resolves years of negotiations and litigations between the tribe, state, and federal government. The tribe will continue to invest in the health and welfare of the community by providing for programs that benefit everyone, such as law enforcement and governmental services, health care, job training, and public works. The tribe may distribute community investments and contributions directly to local jurisdictions or qualifying programs, and it will provide a report to the state of its distributions each year. The tentative Spokane Compact contains limitations on gambling present in other Tribal-State Compacts. Provided all parties approve the compact, the tribe will convert its gaming operations to comply with the compact. For more details on the proposed compact, visit www.wsgc.wa.gov. At press time a Gambling Commission public hearing was scheduled for Friday, Feb. 9th, 2007.
The National Indian Gaming Commission has entered into a settlement agreement with BJ’s Enterprises, Inc. (BJ’s Bingo) and its licensing tribe, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, located in the state of Washington. The settlement agreement resolves an issue with the amount of gaming profits being transferred from BJ’s Bingo to the Puyallup Tribe, which the NIGC Portland Office (Region I) uncovered during an earlier investigation. BJ’s Bingo is an individually owned Class II gaming operation that is located within the Puyallup Indian Reservation. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) requires any individually owned Indian Gaming operation to give not less than 60 percent of the facility’s net revenues to the licensing Indian Tribe. NIGC field auditors and inspectors determined that BJ’s Bingo was not distributing 60 percent of its net revenues to the Puyallup Tribe. However, it was determined that the underpayments were caused primarily by implementation of a problematic worksheet formula that had been approved by the Puyallup Tribal Gaming Commission. As part of the settlement agreement, the Puyallup Tribe will modify its regulatory formula, and BJ’s Bingo will perform accounting measures every year to ensure that at least 60 percent of its net revenues are transferred to the Puyallup Tribe. Any shortfalls will be corrected with an annual reconciliation payment to the tribe. NIGC Chair Phil Hogen said, “We are pleased that this issue has been resolved, and we are hopeful that this facility will continue to prosper for both the Puyallup Tribe and BJ’s Bingo.” To view this settlement agreement, visit the NIGC website at www.nigc.gov and click on reading room, then enforcement actions.
Washington, D.C.
The Game Classification Standards Advisory Committee met to hear comments regarding Class II technical standards. Over the last 50 days, tribal leaders, game manufacturers, and tribal gaming regulators met with tribal representatives of the advisory committee, and have worked diligently to develop recommendations for Class II technical regulations. The meeting was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City, Va., so the advisory committee could report on the progress this group has made. The National Indian Gaming Commission Chair Phil Hogen stated: “The commission is extremely appreciative of the great interest which tribes and gaming equipment manufacturers have taken in the effort to craft regulations for the equipment used by tribes to play bingo and other Class II games. An unprecedented level of communication and cooperation was demonstrated in the intense effort the working group of gaming manufacturers and gaming tribes, devoted to drafting and presenting proposed technical standards to NIGC’s Tribal Advisory Committee, delivered to the commission. While the commission has not yet had the opportunity to fully review the recommendations which were received, we think the fresh approach reflected in this package—which focuses on the game system, not just “player boxes”—has the potential of addressing many of the commission’s concerns relating to insuring the integrity of Class II gaming played with technological aids.” Hogen continued, “The need to have standards that protect the integrity of Class II technologic aids is as great today as it has ever been, and hopefully these sincere efforts of the Indian Gaming industry will assist the commission in completing this task in the near future.” The comment period for Class II technical regulations came to an end on Jan. 31, 2007. At press time, the NIGC was still reviewing the comments and still in deliberating what the next step in the process will be.