Casino news source: Bismarck Tribune - http://www.bismarcktribune.com
Tribes push for more casino slot machines
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Gambling compacts between American Indian tribes and the state are expected to be part of the conversation this week when tribal leaders meet in Rapid City to discuss economic development issues.
The eight Sioux tribes in the state that now operate casinos are bound by contracts with the state to no more than 250 slot machines each.
John Yellowbird Steele, chairman of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said adding more slots at the tribe's casino would help the tribe - and the state.
"Our customers come from Wyoming and Nebraska. We're bringing people into South Dakota," he said. "We're actually helping the economy of South Dakota."
An expansion plan for the tribe's Prairie Winds Casino that would include a new hotel and conference center could hinge in part on adding more slot machines.
"We need more machines," said Eloise Drapeau, secretary of the Flandreau Santee Tribe in Flandreau, which operates the Royal River Casino at Flandreau. "We're already built to hold 500 (machines) on the floor, so it would be no added expense."
Drapeau said that especially during weekends, demand at the casino could keep those additional machines busy.
"We have a lot of people standing around waiting to get on machines," she said.
Federal law gives tribes the right to operate the same types of gambling allowed elsewhere in the state and require tribes to have gambling compacts with the state. They also require the states to negotiate those contracts in good faith.
Some tribal members believe the state keeps the limit on slot machines unreasonably low in order to protect video lottery and gambling in Deadwood. |
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