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State-tribal deal means dueling casinos
Message was posted: 01:04 May 28th, 2006

User: AceyDucey Rank: Casino Gold: 458CG Contributor rating: 1042 Status: Offline

By BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune correspondent [oas:casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming:Middle1] LANDER -- The Wind River Indian Reservation is unique in that it has two unrelated tribes living there. Now, those two tribes will be competitors for gaming revenue. Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Eastern Shoshone Business Council Chairman Ivan Posey signed a gaming compact Wednesday in Cheyenne that will allow the Shoshone to operate a Class III or Las Vegas-style casino on the reservation. The compact with the Shoshone grants that tribe the same authority over gambling on the reservation as the Northern Arapaho Tribe has been granted by the federal government. The Eastern Shoshone won its gaming compact in less than a year, compared with years of legal battles fought by the Northern Arapaho against the state of Wyoming to get a Las Vegas-style casino on the reservation. While the Northern Arapaho have picked a casino site and done some construction preparation work there, neither tribe has indicated when it plans to have a completed casino ready to open. Games commonly played at Las Vegas casinos -- such as slot machines, blackjack, craps and roulette -- fall into the Class III category. So do wagering games and electronic versions of any game of chance. "I'm very pleased with the outcome of our negotiations with the state," Posey said. "This compact really shows the strength of the cooperation between the state and tribe. We look forward to continued positive relations with the governor's office." "It was vitally important that both tribes seeking gambling ventures on the Wind River Indian Reservation be treated equally," Freudenthal said. "It would make no sense to have two different casinos operating under different rules on the same reservation. I appreciate the work that the tribe and all the members of our negotiating teams have put into reaching an agreement."