Capital Chatter: White Earth casino plan still lingering at Capitol
By: Don Davis, Worthington Daily Globe
ST. PAUL — Minnesota legislators talk little about a White Earth Band casino proposal to increase state revenue, but the band leader says she will continue to push it as lawmakers struggle to find money for everything from a stadium to schools.
To answer one of the critics’ nagging questions, White Earth hired former Minnesota Chief Justice Eric Magnuson to look into constitutionality of the state allowing the northwestern Minnesota band to build a Twin Cities casino. He opined: “Legislation authorizing casino gaming, including slot machines, would survive a challenge based on the Minnesota Constitution.”
But even tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor, who continues to push hard for a new casino, admits the plan likely would land in court, Nathan Bowe of Detroit Lakes Newspapers reported.
The small Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Band, operator of the state’s biggest casino, Mystic Lake, probably would be joined by other tribes in fighting the White Earth proposal.
“They’re shackled by money, power and greed, and you can quote me on that,” Vizenor said. “But White Earth is doing the right thing for our people and the state of Minnesota; the resistance and pressure and attacks will not thwart me.”
Besides other casino-owning tribes, conservatives who oppose gambling could challenge the plan in court.
Gov. Mark Dayton has said he opposes using casino revenue, including allowing slot machines at horse-racing tracks, for stadium construction funding because a court case could delay the money for five years.
Magnuson said there has “never been a general prohibition on gambling in either the Minnesota Constitution or state statutes.” But, he added, Minnesota courts have not ruled on questions about the plan to allow the state lottery to extend its oversight to casinos.
“It is our opinion that the state could, if it so chooses, define casino gaming as a lottery to avoid any constitutional issue of whether such gaming is, in fact, a lottery as that term is used in the Constitution,” Magnuson said.
Vizenor pointed out that state and tribal governments have worked together on casinos in Wisconsin, Michigan and other states.
White Earth says the state could received up to $1 billion in the first five years of a Twin Cities casino operation.
Davis works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Daily Globe.
Showing posts with label Governor Mark Dayton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Governor Mark Dayton. Show all posts
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
"...government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler...."
This is the floodgate that Governor Slot Barns opened in Massachusetts --
With stadium plan, Dayton carries on unfortunate legacy of ‘gambling governor’
By Steven Dornfeld
To help fund a new Vikings stadium, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton wants to borrow a page from the political handbook of the late Gov. Rudy Perpich – to expand legalized gambling in Minnesota.
Perpich, who gave Dayton his political start, was about as straight an arrow as they come. However, during his 10 years as governor, he presided over the greatest expansion of legalized gambling in state history. As biographer Betty Wilson noted, Perpich is remembered by some as “the gambling governor.”
Under Perpich’s watch, the state:
•Expanded charitable gambling in 1978 by permitting the use of paddle wheels, tip boards and raffles (he allowed the bill to become law without his signature).
•Enacted legislation in 1983 to allow the construction of Canterbury Downs and legalize racetrack betting, capitalizing on a constitutional change approved by the voters a year earlier.
•Approved a constitutional change in 1988 that allowed the creation of the Minnesota Lottery.
•Signed compacts with Minnesota’s11 Indian tribes in 1989 that allowed the tribes to go into the casino business and gave them a lucrative monopoly – no strings attached.
At the end of the 1989 legislative session, then-Sen. Dean Johnson of Willmar said, “The gambling floodgates are open.” By 1992, Minnesota was “the largest casino gaming center between Nevada and New Jersey,” according to a State Planning Agency report.
Electronic pull-tabs
Now Dayton and his legislative allies want to build on this unfortunate legacy, proposing the legalization of electronic pull-tabs to fund the state’s $398 million share of a $975 million stadium. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has estimated electronic pull tabs could bring in up to $42.7 million annually.
Questions about the expansion of gambling may be the least of the political hurdles facing the latest stadium proposal.
For much of the state’s history, legalized gambling consisted largely of low-stakes bingo games in church basements. In 1947, Gov. Luther Youngdahl made a political name for himself by passing legislation to drive out slot machines that had crept into Minnesota and become popular attractions in many resort communities.
However, over the last three decades, legal gambling increasingly has become a part of the state’s culture. It started with a 1981 law allowing nonprofit and charitable organizations to sell pull-tabs, which forged a regrettable link between gambling and youth athletic programs, among others.
Last year, pull-tabs generated nearly $1 billion in sales and the lottery sold another $500 million in tickets. As for the 18 tribal casinos, who knows how much they raked in? In 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available, these casinos attracted 24.6 million visitors, three times as many as people as Minnesota state parks.
Striking it rich
The unfortunate message, amplified in advertising for the lottery and Powerball: The way to get ahead is not through education and hard work, but rather by buying a ticket and striking it rich.
“How would you like a chance at a million big ones?” asked the Minnesota Lottery’s website. “ Check out our new Million $$ Match TV spot and see if any of these scratching styles could bring you a million dollars instantly!”
Perpich, who championed the lottery proposal, justified it as a way to generate money for economic development and conservation programs. Now Dayton and his allies see the electronic pull-tabs as they only way to build a football stadium and hang onto the Vikings.
If you’ve ever sat in a sports bar and watched patrons fill multiple baskets with the pull-tabs they’ve ripped through, it may be difficult to imagine electronic pull-tabs being any more seductive, if not addictive.
Addiction experts estimate that 160,000 to 214,000 Minnesotans struggle with compulsive gambling, which can threaten family relationships, empty retirement savings , lead to criminal behavior and ultimately destroy lives.
If you’ve followed the news even casually over the years, you know there are church staff members who have embezzled from their employers, elected officials who have written bad checks and law students who have robbed banks – all to support their gambling habits.
As for the state, it’s much like the problem gamblers within our borders. As a William Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada, once observed, “What happens in gaming is that the government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler.”
With stadium plan, Dayton carries on unfortunate legacy of ‘gambling governor’
By Steven Dornfeld
To help fund a new Vikings stadium, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton wants to borrow a page from the political handbook of the late Gov. Rudy Perpich – to expand legalized gambling in Minnesota.
Perpich, who gave Dayton his political start, was about as straight an arrow as they come. However, during his 10 years as governor, he presided over the greatest expansion of legalized gambling in state history. As biographer Betty Wilson noted, Perpich is remembered by some as “the gambling governor.”
Under Perpich’s watch, the state:
•Expanded charitable gambling in 1978 by permitting the use of paddle wheels, tip boards and raffles (he allowed the bill to become law without his signature).
•Enacted legislation in 1983 to allow the construction of Canterbury Downs and legalize racetrack betting, capitalizing on a constitutional change approved by the voters a year earlier.
•Approved a constitutional change in 1988 that allowed the creation of the Minnesota Lottery.
•Signed compacts with Minnesota’s11 Indian tribes in 1989 that allowed the tribes to go into the casino business and gave them a lucrative monopoly – no strings attached.
At the end of the 1989 legislative session, then-Sen. Dean Johnson of Willmar said, “The gambling floodgates are open.” By 1992, Minnesota was “the largest casino gaming center between Nevada and New Jersey,” according to a State Planning Agency report.
Electronic pull-tabs
Now Dayton and his legislative allies want to build on this unfortunate legacy, proposing the legalization of electronic pull-tabs to fund the state’s $398 million share of a $975 million stadium. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has estimated electronic pull tabs could bring in up to $42.7 million annually.
Questions about the expansion of gambling may be the least of the political hurdles facing the latest stadium proposal.
For much of the state’s history, legalized gambling consisted largely of low-stakes bingo games in church basements. In 1947, Gov. Luther Youngdahl made a political name for himself by passing legislation to drive out slot machines that had crept into Minnesota and become popular attractions in many resort communities.
However, over the last three decades, legal gambling increasingly has become a part of the state’s culture. It started with a 1981 law allowing nonprofit and charitable organizations to sell pull-tabs, which forged a regrettable link between gambling and youth athletic programs, among others.
Last year, pull-tabs generated nearly $1 billion in sales and the lottery sold another $500 million in tickets. As for the 18 tribal casinos, who knows how much they raked in? In 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available, these casinos attracted 24.6 million visitors, three times as many as people as Minnesota state parks.
Striking it rich
The unfortunate message, amplified in advertising for the lottery and Powerball: The way to get ahead is not through education and hard work, but rather by buying a ticket and striking it rich.
“How would you like a chance at a million big ones?” asked the Minnesota Lottery’s website. “ Check out our new Million $$ Match TV spot and see if any of these scratching styles could bring you a million dollars instantly!”
Perpich, who championed the lottery proposal, justified it as a way to generate money for economic development and conservation programs. Now Dayton and his allies see the electronic pull-tabs as they only way to build a football stadium and hang onto the Vikings.
If you’ve ever sat in a sports bar and watched patrons fill multiple baskets with the pull-tabs they’ve ripped through, it may be difficult to imagine electronic pull-tabs being any more seductive, if not addictive.
Addiction experts estimate that 160,000 to 214,000 Minnesotans struggle with compulsive gambling, which can threaten family relationships, empty retirement savings , lead to criminal behavior and ultimately destroy lives.
If you’ve followed the news even casually over the years, you know there are church staff members who have embezzled from their employers, elected officials who have written bad checks and law students who have robbed banks – all to support their gambling habits.
As for the state, it’s much like the problem gamblers within our borders. As a William Thompson, a professor at the University of Nevada, once observed, “What happens in gaming is that the government becomes hooked on gambling just like a compulsive gambler.”
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Vikings stadium: The high price of rolling the dice
Vikings stadium: The high price of rolling the dice
Gambling’s toll obscured in stadium push
By: Patrick Condon, Associated Press
VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — Quarter by quarter, Randy Ringaman incessantly fed the casino slot machines and numbly nourished a gambling addiction that drained his nest egg, jeopardized his home and nearly cost him his life.
Now the retired pharmaceutical worker watches with alarm as Minnesota lawmakers eye a raft of expanded gambling options as a way to pay for a new Vikings football stadium. While stadium plan sponsors see a way to raise hundreds of millions of dollars without general tax hikes, Ringaman is part of a competing chorus singing the ills of gambling as anything but pain-free.
His own addiction started innocently enough, playing pull-tabs with friends at a neighborhood bar. Later it escalated to nearly daily casino trips. Rock bottom came on Feb. 29, 2004 when Ringaman swallowed a bottle of pills only to be discovered by his wife, whom he begged not to call an ambulance.
“I purposely did it on Leap Year because that way nobody would have to think about me except every four years,” the 65-year-old recounted recently from the basement of a suburban St. Paul home he refinanced three times to stay on top of his gambling debts.
Financial centerpiece
In recent weeks, the Vikings’ two chief legislative allies — Sen. Julie Rosen and Rep. Morrie Lanning, both Republicans — affirmed that expanded gambling revenue is likely to be a financial centerpiece of a stadium funding bill they could unveil next month.
The Vikings are seeking up to $650 million in state money to help build a replacement to the Metrodome, with the total price tag likely to fly north of $1 billion.
With general tax increases an impossible sell at the Capitol these days, stadium supporters see gambling as the path of least resistance. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is on board, disappointing fellow liberals who have seen him as an ally in pursuit of social justice.
“In a democracy, a free society, people get to choose what they want to spend their money on,” Dayton said earlier this month when asked whether he was concerned that gambling could fall hardest on people of modest means. “That’s why people work, is to have disposable income they can use for whatever entertainment or social activity they choose.”
State lawmakers are mulling a menu of new gambling options: allowing bars and restaurants to upgrade their pull-tab offerings to an electronic version of the game; authorizing two Twin Cities-area horse-racing tracks to install 2,000 video slot machines each; or letting a Minneapolis real estate developer open a brand new casino in that city’s downtown. The state’s cut would come through taxes on the gambling proceeds or licensing fees.
All three ideas potentially offer enough new revenue to fund the state’s stadium share; the latter two proposals would likely leave money to spare for other priorities.
Backers of all three proposals will get a chance to make their pitch directly to lawmakers at the Capitol Tuesday, when two Senate committees hold a hearing on stadium financing options.
Nothing new
Proposals to expand gambling are nothing new at the Capitol, and tapping such revenue to help build a football stadium is not a fresh idea either. But it took on new life in recent weeks, thanks to Dayton’s vocal backing of the Vikings’ stadium push, and fears the team could leave Minnesota when its Metrodome lease expires at season’s end.
Previous efforts have met resistance from an eclectic coalition of casino-owning Indian tribes, religious and social advocacy groups and others who frown on state reliance on gambling dollars for any purpose.
“We think the social costs definitely outweigh any benefits,” said Tom Prichard, president of the conservative Minnesota Family Council. “It encourages indebtedness, family problems. You’re really targeting a narrow range of people who do a significant amount of the gambling.”
Experts on compulsive gambling said there’s no proven link between greater gambling options and increases in the number of compulsive gamblers, which is pegged at 1 to 3 percent of adults. At the same time, Don Feeney, research director at the Minnesota State Lottery, said it’s “intuitive that availability and addiction go hand in hand.”
Paying for the problem
Minnesota currently spends $2.2 million a year on problem gambling treatment, funded by state lottery proceeds. Wealthy, casino-owning tribes like the Shakopee Mdewakanton also donate to such programs.
Ringaman first sought treatment for his own gambling compulsions in the early 1990s, but had a hard time taking it seriously. Over the years, he shifted from playing pull-tabs with friends after work, to playing alone nearly every night, then to trips to the casino once a week or so, to multiple casino trips per week.
For a while his wife joined him, and he learned a trick that convinced her he was uncommonly lucky: “She’d be on a slot machine and losing, so I’d point to the other side of the room and say, ‘Why don’t you go try over there?’ She’d leave, and I’d run to the cash machine and take out a couple more twenties. When she came back, I’d say, ‘Look, I won!”
Besides the home refinancing, Ringaman amassed credit card debts and raided his retirement fund. The suicide attempt came when he started to think about cashing out his 401(k) entirely, knowing he and his wife would be wrecked for good.
After his wife thwarted that February attempt, Ringaman went back to treatment and she took control of their finances. But she didn’t know he was expecting a work profit-sharing check.
“That was the end of April,” Ringaman said. “I went one more time, and the suicidal thoughts came right back. That’s when it finally bothered me enough to go really seek help. And that was the last time.”
Today, Ringaman serves on the board of directors for the Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance, funded by state treatment dollars. He said he’s not anti-gambling. But, asked what he thought of the state using gambling money to pay for wish-list items like a stadium, he had a harsh appraisal.
“Geez, I did that same thing. When I did win, I would buy electronics, jewelry for the wife,” Ringaman said. “I don’t see a difference. I think our state has a gambling problem. I think our country has a gambling problem.”
Gambling’s toll obscured in stadium push
By: Patrick Condon, Associated Press
VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — Quarter by quarter, Randy Ringaman incessantly fed the casino slot machines and numbly nourished a gambling addiction that drained his nest egg, jeopardized his home and nearly cost him his life.
Now the retired pharmaceutical worker watches with alarm as Minnesota lawmakers eye a raft of expanded gambling options as a way to pay for a new Vikings football stadium. While stadium plan sponsors see a way to raise hundreds of millions of dollars without general tax hikes, Ringaman is part of a competing chorus singing the ills of gambling as anything but pain-free.
His own addiction started innocently enough, playing pull-tabs with friends at a neighborhood bar. Later it escalated to nearly daily casino trips. Rock bottom came on Feb. 29, 2004 when Ringaman swallowed a bottle of pills only to be discovered by his wife, whom he begged not to call an ambulance.
“I purposely did it on Leap Year because that way nobody would have to think about me except every four years,” the 65-year-old recounted recently from the basement of a suburban St. Paul home he refinanced three times to stay on top of his gambling debts.
Financial centerpiece
In recent weeks, the Vikings’ two chief legislative allies — Sen. Julie Rosen and Rep. Morrie Lanning, both Republicans — affirmed that expanded gambling revenue is likely to be a financial centerpiece of a stadium funding bill they could unveil next month.
The Vikings are seeking up to $650 million in state money to help build a replacement to the Metrodome, with the total price tag likely to fly north of $1 billion.
With general tax increases an impossible sell at the Capitol these days, stadium supporters see gambling as the path of least resistance. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is on board, disappointing fellow liberals who have seen him as an ally in pursuit of social justice.
“In a democracy, a free society, people get to choose what they want to spend their money on,” Dayton said earlier this month when asked whether he was concerned that gambling could fall hardest on people of modest means. “That’s why people work, is to have disposable income they can use for whatever entertainment or social activity they choose.”
State lawmakers are mulling a menu of new gambling options: allowing bars and restaurants to upgrade their pull-tab offerings to an electronic version of the game; authorizing two Twin Cities-area horse-racing tracks to install 2,000 video slot machines each; or letting a Minneapolis real estate developer open a brand new casino in that city’s downtown. The state’s cut would come through taxes on the gambling proceeds or licensing fees.
All three ideas potentially offer enough new revenue to fund the state’s stadium share; the latter two proposals would likely leave money to spare for other priorities.
Backers of all three proposals will get a chance to make their pitch directly to lawmakers at the Capitol Tuesday, when two Senate committees hold a hearing on stadium financing options.
Nothing new
Proposals to expand gambling are nothing new at the Capitol, and tapping such revenue to help build a football stadium is not a fresh idea either. But it took on new life in recent weeks, thanks to Dayton’s vocal backing of the Vikings’ stadium push, and fears the team could leave Minnesota when its Metrodome lease expires at season’s end.
Previous efforts have met resistance from an eclectic coalition of casino-owning Indian tribes, religious and social advocacy groups and others who frown on state reliance on gambling dollars for any purpose.
“We think the social costs definitely outweigh any benefits,” said Tom Prichard, president of the conservative Minnesota Family Council. “It encourages indebtedness, family problems. You’re really targeting a narrow range of people who do a significant amount of the gambling.”
Experts on compulsive gambling said there’s no proven link between greater gambling options and increases in the number of compulsive gamblers, which is pegged at 1 to 3 percent of adults. At the same time, Don Feeney, research director at the Minnesota State Lottery, said it’s “intuitive that availability and addiction go hand in hand.”
Paying for the problem
Minnesota currently spends $2.2 million a year on problem gambling treatment, funded by state lottery proceeds. Wealthy, casino-owning tribes like the Shakopee Mdewakanton also donate to such programs.
Ringaman first sought treatment for his own gambling compulsions in the early 1990s, but had a hard time taking it seriously. Over the years, he shifted from playing pull-tabs with friends after work, to playing alone nearly every night, then to trips to the casino once a week or so, to multiple casino trips per week.
For a while his wife joined him, and he learned a trick that convinced her he was uncommonly lucky: “She’d be on a slot machine and losing, so I’d point to the other side of the room and say, ‘Why don’t you go try over there?’ She’d leave, and I’d run to the cash machine and take out a couple more twenties. When she came back, I’d say, ‘Look, I won!”
Besides the home refinancing, Ringaman amassed credit card debts and raided his retirement fund. The suicide attempt came when he started to think about cashing out his 401(k) entirely, knowing he and his wife would be wrecked for good.
After his wife thwarted that February attempt, Ringaman went back to treatment and she took control of their finances. But she didn’t know he was expecting a work profit-sharing check.
“That was the end of April,” Ringaman said. “I went one more time, and the suicidal thoughts came right back. That’s when it finally bothered me enough to go really seek help. And that was the last time.”
Today, Ringaman serves on the board of directors for the Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance, funded by state treatment dollars. He said he’s not anti-gambling. But, asked what he thought of the state using gambling money to pay for wish-list items like a stadium, he had a harsh appraisal.
“Geez, I did that same thing. When I did win, I would buy electronics, jewelry for the wife,” Ringaman said. “I don’t see a difference. I think our state has a gambling problem. I think our country has a gambling problem.”
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