Tribes say they'll stick with Class II
Pub Date: 6/1/2007
In a statement released to the Tavern Times at deadline, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Public Information Officer Robert McDonald said, "The Salish-Kootenai Tribes have moved on from the Class III compact talks. We are focusing on our gaming efforts at our Class II operations located in Polson at the Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort and Casino and the Gray Wolf Peak in Evaro.
"We are not pursuing a new compact with the state of Montana.
"As part of the effort to recapture the $2 million CS&KT earned for the tribal general fund from Class III gaming, all efforts have been put into Gray Wolf Peak and the KwaTaqNuk Casinos.
"To date, the new venture in Evaro, which offers more than 100 machines and a card room, has created 50 new jobs and stimulated the local economy by pouring thousands into local businesses.
Payroll and support services alone infuse nearly $100,000 a month into the local economy and that doesn't factor in the construction work of remodeling the Evaro structure.
"As for payouts, within four months of the Class III compact ending, $250,000 in jackpots had been awarded to gamers, and that's only counting jackpots of $5,000 or more since November 30, 2006.
"Business has been strong at the casinos located at each end of the Flathead Indian Reservation, near Kalispell at one end and Missoula at the other.
"On June 22-23, Gray Wolf Peak will have its grand opening, which will include a poker run.
"As you recall, CS&KT put forward an offer that would have retained all Class III gaming for private gamers. The significant change would have been that tribes would have become the enforcement agency of gaming regulations.
"Neither the state nor the Lake County Tavern Association showed much interest in that approach. The Tribes already have jurisdiction over non-tribal members in various areas from hunting-fishing regulations,
shoreline protection and let's not forget that the tribes run Mission Valley Power and employ hundreds of non-tribal workers.
"The tribes have a gaming commission, which gives out free raffle permits to those who ask, which is primarily the schools and service organizations in our community.
"There has been much misinformation tossed out regarding CS&KT's gaming proposal. The agreement was crafted with the knowledge and clear understanding that the Governor has clear authority to enter into the gaming compact proposed by the Tribes. Â
"In fact, the Montana Attorney General's Office issued a legal opinion outlining the Governor's authority to enter into gaming compacts with Tribal Governments which specifically relied upon Montana's Tribal/State Cooperative Agreements Act. Â
"Our proposal was a clear, legal, and viable option to the old gaming compact. Unfortunately, that's not how other agencies chose to understand our proposal. And without a compact, all Class III gaming becomes illegal again for tribal and non-tribal alike under the Johnson Act."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, June 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.