Tribal casinos, protected by sovereign immunity, face challenges from gamblers claiming abuse

FILE - In this June 29, 2006, file photo, a table game area is reflected on a ceiling mirror in Foxwoods Resort Casino on the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation in Mashantucket, Conn. Lawsuits making their way through federal courts are testing the principle of sovereign immunity when it comes to abuse claims at tribal casinos. So-called “advantage players” are made to feel unwelcome, regularly being tossed and and blacklisted. But gamblers have limited options to press claims of mistreatment at Native American-owned properties, which generally are shielded from lawsuits in outside courts by laws recognizing tribes’ sovereignty (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File) 

By MICHAEL MELIA, Associated Press

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) — For gamblers skilled at counting cards, it can be especially risky to play at America's tribal casinos: Those who have gotten caught tell stories of seized winnings, wrongful detentions, or worse.

Casino bosses everywhere have ways of making so-called "advantage players" feel unwelcome, regularly tossing and blacklisting them. But gamblers have limited options to press claims of mistreatment at Native American-owned properties, which generally are shielded from lawsuits in outside courts by laws recognizing tribes' sovereignty.

Now, a pair of lawsuits in federal courts is testing the principle of tribal immunity in cases involving allegations of abuse and bias in tribal justice systems.

The cases, in Connecticut and Arizona, involve crackdowns on advantage players who say they use card-counting or other methods that shift the odds in their favor, but generally are not illegal.

"You do not have a level playing field," said Stanford Wong, a Las Vegas-based gambling expert who advises readers of his newsletters to be aware that tribal properties are governed by their own laws. "In a tribal casino, there's no recourse whatsoever. You can't sue them in regular court. The odds are all stacked against you."

At the country's largest Indian casino, Foxwoods in southeastern Connecticut, three gamblers from China claim the casino wrongly seized $1.6 million deposited as "front money" and $1.1 million in winnings after accusing them of cheating at mini baccarat during a graveyard shift on Christmas Eve 2011. The gamblers said they used a card-monitoring practice called edge-sorting, which involves players being able to tell the difference between some cards because of imperfections on their non-playing sides.

The gamblers including Cheung Yin Sun, a woman known as the "Queen of Sorts" for her card-monitoring skills, said they were denied the lawyer of their choice in tribal proceedings that ended with a ruling against them by the tribe's gambling commission.

When the gamblers filed suit in federal court, the casino's owner, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, argued it had immunity, and a federal judge in early June dismissed the suit. An attorney for the plaintiffs on Wednesday filed notice of an appeal.

In the United States, there are 493 Indian casinos and 1,262 commercial casinos. In 2013, tribal casinos generated $28.3 billion in revenue while commercial properties had $37.7 billion, according to the Casino City research firm.

The options available to gamblers who want to press a claim depend on the contracts between tribes and the host states, which typically grant rights to operate locally in exchange for a share of revenue. The state of Connecticut, which does not require the tribe to waive sovereign immunity, has seven gambling regulation officers assigned to Foxwoods, but their role is limited to testing of the slot machines whose revenue is shared with the state. The state has no oversight of table games.

While tribal gambling commissions answer to the same tribes that own the casinos, National Indian Gaming Commission spokesman Michael Odle in Washington said they operate independently. He said those alleging a lack of impartiality could make the same argument about federal courts handling cases involving the U.S. government.

George Henningsen, chairman of the Pequot gaming commission, said it's difficult to dispel allegations of bias because it's typically only losers who speak out about their experiences with tribal justice.

A handful of lawyers around the country with expertise in gambling disputes say the worst horror stories are at tribal casinos. While some hope to bring pressure to put tribal properties on the same legal footing as commercial casinos, one attorney, Bob Nersesian, said he is more focused day to day on helping the clients who call with claims of abuse.

In the Arizona case, advantage players filed suit after they were detained on suspicion of cheating in 2011 at the Mazatzal Casino, owned by the Tonto Apache Tribe. A federal judge in Arizona last year ruled that sovereign immunity did not apply because tribal officials involved were named in their individual capacities, and an appeals court affirmed that decision on Tuesday.

One of the plaintiffs, Rahne Pistor, said the officers who detained him did not identify themselves as police and grabbed his genitals as they assaulted him.

"I simply had won more money than they liked," Pistor said, "so they kidnapped me, handcuffed me, forced me into an isolated back room in the casino and physically stole whatever money they could out of my pocket."

Nersesian, the plaintiffs' attorney in the Mazatzal case, said such disputes do not discourage advantage players from visiting tribal casinos. If anything, he said, they draw them out in greater numbers by showing the games can be beaten.

"It's more like somebody dying from a hot shot of heroin," he said. "As soon as that happens, the market goes up, not down."

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/07/01/gamblers-abuse-claims-test-sovereignty-of-us-tribal-casinos

NIGC.gov

Government Accountability Office report highlights corruption concerns at Indian casinos

 Renee Kingsley

 

 June 5, 2015

The Indian gaming industry in the United States is estimated to be around $28 billion in 2015 and will continue to grow as a number of tribes continue to open new casinos and expand existing ones on their reservations. This billion dollar casino industry is a money-making machine that has posed significant challenges for the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) who has the responsibility for ensuring that the sovereign Indian tribes conform to the federal regulations.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report after conducting an in-depth study and analysis on the Indian gaming industry and highlighted the fact that there are a number of serious concerns with Indian casinos. The report stated that corruption, money-laundering, racketeering and possible mismanagement were some of the biggest threats to the casino and law enforcement.

The report also asked the NIGC to step up its efforts to ensure that tribes are given more training and technical assistance to form robust policies at casinos and ensure that casinos employees are well equipped to spot criminal activity.

The GAO report stated “The commission has more recently emphasized actions that encourage voluntary resolution of compliance issues, including providing training and technical assistance and alerting tribes of potential compliance issues using letters of concern. However, the effectiveness of these two approaches is unclear. The commission has limited performance measures that assess outcomes achieved. With such additional measures, the commission would be better positioned to assess the effectiveness of its training and technical assistance”.

The GAO report also confirmed that there are some states like Arizona which have a very strong system in place which makes it difficult for criminal activity to be conducted. The report highlighted the fact that Arizona has twenty three casinos that are run by sixteen Native American tribes. The report states that these 23 Indian casinos are monitored by 100 Arizona Department of Gaming regulators making it difficult for an illegal activity to be conducted.

The report encouraged the NIGC to continue to be proactive to ensure that the Indian gaming industry follows robust security policies and remains free from corruption.

http://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/government-accountability-office-report-highlights-corruption-concerns-at-indian-casinos-8311

Trent Franks' Casino Legislation Worth A Shot

Trent Franks’ casino legislation worth a shot




By Editorial boardThe Republic | azcentral.comFri Apr 12, 2013 7:19 AM

As game efforts go, federal legislation proposed by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., to forestall construction of a new tribal casino near Glendale is a worthy effort.

Likely a losing effort, considering the makeup of Congress. But worthy nonetheless.

The prospects for southern Arizona’s Tohono O’odham tribe building its casino-resort, purported to be a $500 million project near 95th and Northern avenues, seem strong. The Department of the Interior so far has green-lighted the deal, and the courts have yet to prove a real impediment.

No legal standard in statute or tribal law explicitly defends the intent of voters. There is only righteousness on their side. And the law, in this case, is indifferent to that sentiment.

When Arizona voters approved Proposition 202 in 2002, authorizing then-Gov. Jane Dee Hull to negotiate gaming compacts with Arizona’s various tribes, the clear, popular expectation was that the compacts would restrict the growth of casino-style gaming. Besides expressing an altruistic sense of economic fairness to the tribes, there was no greater motivation for voters than that.

It was a campaign drumbeat, repeated endlessly by Hull and state gaming officials, as well as by David LaSarte, then the executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association.

On April 8, 2002, LaSarte testified before the Arizona Senate’s Committee on Government. He assured members that the compacts then under negotiation would “limit the number of facilities in the Phoenix metro area to the current number.”

The hard limit on new casinos was a selling point in the $30 million advertising campaign funded partly by the Tohono O’odham tribe itself.

Evidence unearthed as a result of the lawsuits filed to stop the casino project strongly suggests tribal leaders and their lawyers were plotting to circumvent voters’ intent on Prop. 202 even before the votes had been logged.

Gross hypocrisy, alas, is not a standard that holds up well in court.

Will Franks’ bill hold up? In all candor, we’re not holding out a lot of hope.

It is better than the legislation Franks sponsored in 2011, which sought to halt the project by revising, well after the fact, existing federal-tribal agreements.

The new bill would block construction of any new tribal casino in the Phoenix area at least until 2027, when the current tribal compacts begin expiring.

It is honest, straightforward legislation that seeks to do what no court or federal agency cares to do: pay serious mind to the clear intent of voters — those people who made it possible in the first place for the Tohono O’odhams to reap millions in gaming revenue.

With Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., on board as a co-sponsor, the bill has a bipartisan gloss. Still, Franks’ last effort failed in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and that political reality has not changed.

The Tohono O’odham gambit is an insult to the goodwill of state voters as well as to aspirations of the Phoenix-area tribes, which have invested countless millions in their gaming concerns.

The law and federal lawmakers and their agencies have been indifferent about such insults.

We hope that changes.

http://www.azcentral.com/opinions/articles/20130411editorial-franks-try-worth-shot.html

We’re Shocked! There’s Gambling Corruption in Arizona?

Jan 18

Posted by arizona today

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), reacting to the evidence filed recently with the U.S. District Court of Arizona as part of the litigation involving the Tohono O’odham Nation for violating the gaming compact with the State of Arizona, today released the following statement:

“It is clear now that the intent to pursue an illegal casino by the Tohono O’odham Nation in Glendale had been in their plans as early as 1989 and certainly during the gaming compact negotiations of Prop. 202. The detailed evidence filed with the court shows that the Tohono O’odham Nation was publicly negotiating and agreeing to gaming compact terms along side all other Arizona tribes; promising to keeping the number of casinos in the Phoenix-Metro area to no more than seven, while secretly auditing various sites in the Phoenix-metro area for a casino. These new facts unveil a deceptive plan that betrayed the trust of Arizona’s other Indian communities and disregarded commitments made to Arizona’s voters.”

“When I introduced H.R.2938—an earnest attempt to settle this issue for good, preventing the Tohono O’odham Nation from misusing the Gila Bend Act to open an off-reservation casino more than 100 miles from their tribal lands—state, tribal and local leaders agreed it was the right thing to do. Now we know that our efforts to prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation from building a casino in Glendale are all the more justified. If the Nation prevails in their efforts it will be a reward for bad behavior and a total disregard for the many people who worked openly and honestly on Prop 202—tribal leaders, elected officials, business leaders and community members—and a disservice to the thousands of voters who passed it into law.”

The Statement of Facts for the case

The State of Arizona; The Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community v. The Tohono O’odham Nation, Case No. 2:11-cv-00296-DGC is available to the public at the United States District Court For the District of Arizona. The materials can be accessed via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. The 55-page Statement of Facts is comprised of more than 200 pieces of evidence documenting the deception—meeting notes, depositions, transcripts from recorded meetings etc. The secret actions by the Nation are organized chronologically starting in 1989 and begin on page 42. Among the last entries is a comment in 2003 from a Nation Chairwoman who according to the document, ‘believed any attempt to place a casino in the Phoenix area “would be a political battle” because the Nation had agreed that when it built a fourth casino it would be “nowhere near Phoenix.”

http://azconservative.org/2013/01/18/were-shocked-theres-gambling-corruption-in-arizona/

Arizona: Cesspool of the USA

'Tis a conundrum! Which came first? Corruption? Or Gambling?

They always go hand in hand.

Much as the closed door meetings conducted on Beacon Hill and the transportation report Senator Petrucelli refused to provide after receiving generous charitable contributions. Hmmmm.....


Arizona Lincoln Republicans
Returning the Arizona GOP to the party of Lincoln
Arizona: Cesspool of the USA
by Bob Quasius, Sr. on Apr. 05, 2012, under Arpaio, Babeu

Not since the armies of the United States and Mexico chased Apache hero Geronimo all over Arizona and Northern Mexico has the United States paid much attention to Arizona until a car bomb killed a reporter who was investigating deep corruption of Arizona Republican politicians who were bought and paid for by gambling interests.

The bomb’s target died and Arizona press reporters mobilized to expose his murderers and in the process started a deep political anal examination that would eventually run two Republican governors out of office and into jail.

The state’s well-connected non-profit Fiesta Bowl Association’s bowl game would be exposed for a corrupt organization that had politicians enjoying five-star hotels (e.g.: in Chicago) and who-knows-what-else on tax free dollars including State Senate President – Russell Pearce — who the press exposed for taking $40,000 in “goodies” that led along with other political foibles to his being thrown out of office by his district voters.

To prove the deep-seated corruption of Arizona politics, that same recalled State Senate President had previously been fired from his governor-appointed job as Director of the state’s Motor Vehicle Department for criminally tampering with a woman’s driving record. Why? That was a felony. Unfortunately he was not prosecuted for political reasons.

Now, a new investigation is under way of the newly elected (2010) state Attorney General of Arizona, Republican Tom Horne, for illegally working with a Political Action Committee on fundraising, comingling of funds and campaign direction of his campaign. Already under the microscope for appointing a woman lawyer to a lucrative job in his office who has been in legal trouble with the State Bar more than once and has demonstrated that she is a terrible lawyer,

Attorney General Tom Horne previously served as the State Superintendent of Education and banned teaching of subjects he doesn’t care for in the Tucson schools that are available all over the Southwest. That case is in the courts.

Into this cesspool of corruption AKA The State of Arizona is the continuing saga of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the 78-year-old former federal drug cop who runs the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in and around Phoenix. He has been investigated by the federal government starting with complaints filed in 2008 to the Bush Department of Justice that accused him of running the worst racial profiling department in the entire country – an illegal activity by any department.

Famous for massive raids on Hispanic neighborhoods in his 24/7 hunt of illegally present aliens, specifically those of the Mexican bloodline, the irascible sheriff is to be dragged into court. A judge has ordered a July 19 trial for the case of Melendez v. Arpaio in which Arpaio is being sued for racial profiling which is illegal by all public agencies, including Arpaio’s MCSO.

This is bad news for Arpaio for he stalked out of a mediation conference with the federal government recently. It was ordered when the federal government released a report of the illegal racial profiling used by Arpaio deputies. He continues his hysterical hunt for bus boys, dishwashers, plant-tending nursery workers and waitresses.

The federal government will now sue. Arpaio says he will fight with taxpayer dollars, of course.

Arpaio’s next door neighboring Sheriff Paul Babeu (Boo-Boo) is being investigated by the State and Federal governments for allegedly threatening his former boy friend the (self-admitted) homosexual sheriff dumped when he announced for a congressional Republican nomination.

Amidst investigations, extensive racial profiling and massive corruption that has sent two governors to prison, the disgraced recalled former State Senate President Pearce has announced a run for a new unoccupied state senate seat this fall.

Worse, his pet project, the anti-illegal alien/immigrant SB 1070 law, will be scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court after it has been stopped cold by an Arizona federal judge and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The corrupt State of Arizona, its corrupt Republican Party, a failed politician that was fired for committing felonies as Director of the state Motor Vehicle Department and recalled by voters, lie exposed under a bright sun’s light in more ways than one.

Currently being offered by those very same corrupt legislators and politicians is a bill that would punish “offensive” “offending” online speech, photos and references that tend to aggravate or bother people like former State Senate President Russell Pearce or Sheriffs Arpaio or Boo-boo or Attorney General Horne – like this very article. It will be e-mailed to over 600 newspapers, media and readers. In Arizona under this proposed law I could be arrested.

Arizona may or may not be a good place to visit or to do business in but it obviously is not a good place in which to live if one has brown skin and/or believes in the U.S. Constitution that is respected by 49 other states.

###


Raoul Lowery Contreras (1941) was born in Mexico, raised in the USA. Former U.S. Marine, athlete, Dean’s List at San Diego State. Professional political consultant and California Republican Party official(1963-65)…Television news commentator, radio talk show host…published Op-Ed writer (1988 to present)…author of 12 books (as of 1-05-12). His books are available on Amazon.com.

March Madness sparks illegal gambling

March Madness sparks illegal gambling

PHOENIX (CBS5) - Sports gambling experts predict more than $7 billion will be wagered illegally on this year's NCAA college basketball tournament, and some of the participants will end up with a gambling problem.

"Steve" is a former gambling addict who said that he used to place bets every day on everything.

"If I win, I have to go back and win more," said Steve. "If I lose I have to go back and win my money."

The former gambler asked to hide his identity and not use his real name.

"I won the first bet I ever made," Steve said. "I didn't win a whole lot of money, but it was such a thrill to know I was smarter than everyone else."

Steve confessed that he would sneak away from his job as a computer professional to place bets with money he didn't have.

At one point, Steve said he was writing up to 10 bad checks a day to keep his addiction going.

"It adds up and the next thing you know, oh, where did all my money go and how do I pay my bills and what do I do about food and how do I pay rent?" said Steve.

The 69-year-old grandfather said that his gambling problem got to the point where he knew if he kept going he'd lose his family.

It was a bet, he finally, wasn't willing to take, but other compulsive gamblers aren't so lucky.

"Cars, homes, relationships, wives, you can lose all of it," said Steve."It can get to the point people don't want to go on anymore and feel there is no way out."

Steve said he was able to get past his gambling addiction through the Valley chapter of Gamblers Anonymous, and wants to encourage others to do the same

"There are people in our meetings who say it has saved their lives, because they don't know what they would have done if they didn't stop gambling," said Steve.

Right now, there are 35 Gamblers Anonymous meetings held every week across the Valley.

We already ban welfare spending in casinos....

Businesses: We already ban welfare spending in casinos, bars, strip clubs
By Stephanie Snyder
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Rod Aranki sees it “a couple times a week” – people coming into his Phoenix store, the Liquor Wheel, and trying to buy alcohol with their welfare benefits.

“People do try,” said Aranki, who turns away the people who try to buy alcohol with their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, the debit cards that access their Cash Assistance benefits from the state.

“Nobody really asks because they know I won’t let them,” Aranki said. “Given the opportunity, I’m sure they probably would.”

Now, a new federal proposal aims to take even the opportunity away from welfare recipients by forcing states to prohibit the use of EBT cards in liquor stores, casinos or strip clubs.

The “welfare integrity” bill, which passed the House 395-27 this month, would give states two years to get such restrictions in place. States that don’t do so would see their federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant cut by 5 percent a year until they meet the requirements.
But state officials and business owners in Arizona say the state is already dealing with the issue, either informally like Aranki or formally like Mark Brnovich.

Brnovich, the director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, said Arizona has been working to keep welfare dollars out of the state’s casinos for years. State law bars EBT cards from being used at tribal gaming facilities and ATMs at casinos, he said.

“It’s not really an issue here in Arizona because we are so vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Brnovich said. “We test every single ATM prior to going live in gaming casinos and make sure we test them on a regular basis to ensure they do not accept EBT cards or any other cards designed to help needy families and children.

“It’s important any time a government entity or agency, whether federal or state, is providing services to needy individuals or families that … they ensure those funds are being used for what they were intended to be used for,” Brnovich said.

He said the state became aware of the issue after news reports showed other jurisdictions, like California, reporting high numbers of welfare dollars being withdrawn at casinos.

A national organization representing strip clubs said it also learned about the issue through news reports and legislative proposals.

“We thought it was atrocious,” said Angelina Spencer, executive director of the Association of Club Executives. Welfare money is “meant for children,” she said, and no legitimate operators would want to see that money spent in their businesses.

At several Phoenix-area strip clubs, employees said they had never heard of a patron trying to use an EBT card in the business. But that doesn’t mean there’s not a need for legislation preventing it, said an employee at Bourbon Street who identified himself as a manager, but declined to give his name.

“I can’t imagine someone saying that’s not a good idea – other than the strippers,” he said.
But at least 27 members of Congress do think it’s a bad idea, including Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson. He was the only Arizona lawmaker to vote against the bill.

A spokesman for Grijalva said that while the bill seems like a “really great piece of legislation,” it won’t actually stop people from spending money in the targeted businesses. Adam Sarvana notes that the bill would only control where people use their EBT card or where they withdraw cash from their welfare accounts – not where they spend it once the cash is in their hands.

“As far as how that would be done, I have no idea,” Sarvana said of the problems of tracking cash spending.

Besides, he said, for many welfare recipients the closest ATM may be in a liquor store or casino.
“You’re kind of hitting the poorest of the poor with a bill like that,” he said. “It sounds ridiculous to us.”

The state provided 18,750 families with funding last year under the Cash Assistance program, which is designed to help families meet basic needs of food, housing and the like. To qualify, families cannot earn more than the federal poverty level – $1,838 for a family of four – unless the head of household is not a parent, according to the Department of Economic Security website. Monthly benefits range from as little as $10 up to $791, depending on rent, family size and other factors.

The Arizona Department of Economic Security does not currently track where people use their EBT cards in the Cash Assistance program, spokeswoman Tasya Peterson said in an email. And state law does not restrict the use of EBT cards in liquor stores, said a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Liquor Licensing and Control.

Lee Hill said state liquor law is “silent on the topic of what can be accepted” at liquor stores, and that monitoring where welfare assistance is spent is not under the regulatory authority of the department.

“I’m not aware that that’s elevated to a level of concern at this point,” Hill said.

“Only reason it would be on our radar would be if we … saw a trend that is negatively impacting the citizens of Arizona,” she said. “Certainly that would become an issue with us.”
But so far it “hasn’t been a topic of conversation,” she said.

While Hill said she has not heard of a problem with people trying to use welfare dollars for alcohol, Aranki said that having a federal law on the books to prohibit the practice couldn’t hurt.

“If people follow the rules, it shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know what’s going on,” he said.

Facts about Arizona's Cash Assistance Program

• Arizona's welfare program, Cash Assistance, provides needy families with a temporary monthly stipend to use for basic needs expenses to help them become self-sufficient.
• The state has a two-year limit on receiving benefits for the head of household and spouse. Families receive benefits for an average of 10.4 months.
• Monthly benefits can range from $10 to $791 depending on rent or mortgage payments, the number of qualified family members and the head of household's relationship to the dependent children.
• For example, a family of four that pays rent could receive as much as $335 per month.
• Adult recipients must sign a Personal Responsibility Agreement indicating their agreement to work toward a job and, if applicable, comply with child support payments.

Source: Arizona Department of Economic Security

Tucson woman who stole fees for methadone sentenced

Tucson woman who stole fees for methadone sentenced
Kim Smith, Arizona Daily Star


A Tucson woman who stole nearly $183,000 from a local social-service agency told her sentencing judge Friday she has sought help for a gambling addiction and hopes to educate high school students about the dangers of gambling.

Mary Ann Diaz, 53, was indicted last April on one count each of fraud and theft. She pleaded guilty to theft last month.

Assistant Arizona Attorney General Jesse Delaney asked Judge Teresa Godoy to sentence Diaz to probation and jail and Assistant Pima County Public Defender Leo Masursky asked for a strictly probationary term.

Godoy sentenced Diaz to five years probation, ordered her to repay what she stole from La Frontera and to pay the Attorney General’s Office $2,000 in investigation costs.

Diaz was responsible for collecting fees from people seeking methadone at La Frontera and then depositing those fees, Delaney said.

However, between July 1, 2007, and March 23, 2010, Diaz would routinely take one or two days' worth of fees and use them to gamble, Delaney said.

A tearful Diaz told Godoy she’s not the woman she was last year. She’s been seeing a therapist and is involved in a gambling recovery group.



Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/tucson-woman-who-stole-fees-for-methadone-sentenced/article_d03b1ebc-4924-11e1-8997-001871e3ce6c.html#ixzz1klIH9NRQ

Glendale-area casino-ban bill passes hurdle in U.S. House

Glendale-area casino-ban bill passes hurdle in U.S. House
Block of Tohono O'odham operation in Valley goes to House
by Erin Kelly and Cecilia Chan
Republic Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON - A key House panel approved a bill Thursday by Arizona Republicans to bar the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a casino near Glendale.

Leaders from Glendale and two Valley Indian tribes praised the decision, while those from Peoria and the Tohono O'odham Nation criticized the measure.

National leaders on Indian policy showed "us they get it," said Greg Mendoza, a councilman and governor-elect of the Gila River Indian Community. "This illegal, off-reservation casino should not be allowed to go ahead because it's wrong to break the promise tribes made to the voters of Arizona."


But Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said the legislation seeks to protect Valley gaming tribes at the expense of his southern Arizona-based one.

"Despite a desperate effort to mislead members of Congress, the legislation is nothing more than an attempt to shield special interests from competition," Norris said.

Members of the House Natural Resources Committee voted 32-11 to send the bill by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., to the full House for action. Only two Arizona lawmakers serve on the committee: Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz. Gosar voted in favor of the bill; Grijalva voted against it.

It is not yet clear when the House might consider the bill, but the GOP-controlled chamber is likely to approve it. The measure faces an uncertain future in the Democrat-led Senate. The legislation is opposed by President Barack Obama's administration.

Gosar and Grijalva sparred over the bill before the panel took action. Their argument mirrors the one that is taking place in Arizona, where debate over the proposed casino has pitted Arizona tribes, local elected officials and residents against one another.

Glendale officials say a tribal reservation would siphon anticipated tax hauls from the land near their sports and entertainment district the city eventually planned to annex. City leaders and some residents also criticize the location, near 95th and Northern avenues, not far from a high school.

"This vote proves once again that a casino located across the street from a high school and in the middle of a neighborhood is a bad idea in many respects," Glendale City Attorney Craig Tindall said.

Peoria Mayor Bob Barrett views the planned resort and casino as an economic boon, dismissing Glendale's argument about the loss of taxes. "The problem is Glendale is talking about someday-jobs and maybe-jobs. With the Tohono O'odham, we are talking about jobs now," he said.

The proposal has created discord among Arizona tribes, as Gila River and others say it would destroy a carefully crafted compact agreed to in 2002 by Arizona's tribes, the state and voters.

State officials have joined Gila River and others to say the compact, which was signed by the Tohono O'odham Nation, limits the number of casinos allowed in the Valley to the seven currently in operation. The Tohono O'odham's proposed casino would bring that number to eight. The tribe now operates three gaming facilities in Arizona: two in the Tucson area and one near Why.

"The tribe is reneging on their obligations and on their word," Gosar said. "It's simply that."

But Grijalva said the compact did not take away the 30,000-member tribe's right to build a casino on land it acquired as part of an agreement made with the federal government 25 years ago.

In 1960, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Painted Rock Dam on the Gila River. That dam resulted in the continuous flooding of nearly 9,880 acres of tribal land, destroying a 750-acre farm that had generated revenue for the tribe.

Congress, at the urging of Arizona lawmakers, passed a bill in 1986 to give the tribe $30 million to purchase up to 9,880 acres of new reservation land in Pima, Pinal or Maricopa counties to replace the property lost to flooding.

One of the parcels the tribe bought was about 135 acres in Maricopa County between Peoria and Glendale. The tribe cannot build the casino unless the Interior Department determines that the land is eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Interior officials have not yet issued a ruling.

Interior Department officials said Franks' bill would contradict the 1986 law, which says any replacement lands purchased by the Tohono O'odham Nation "shall be deemed to be a federal Indian reservation for all purposes," including gaming.

But an amendment by Gosar that passed the committee Thursday would specifically exclude a casino on reservation land in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Bill would stop Reservation Shopping

McCain Rejection

Bill would kill off-reservation casinos


U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, both of Arizona, both Republicans, have introduced a bill that would prevent the Bureau of Indian Affairs from taking “off-reservation” land into trust. McCain and Kyl are concerned about a recent BIA decision that allowed the Tohono O’odham Nation to acquire land in Glendale, Arizona, far from its Tucson-area reservation, to build a casino, over the objections of the city, county, state and surrounding tribes.

The bill is called the “Off–Reservation Land Acquisitions Guidance Act” and is similar to two proposed amendments to a Department of the Interior appropriation act introduced separately in the House.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Virginia) was one of the first to comment: “These amendments are an assault on Indian Country, attacking the land-into-trust mechanism established to ensure that tribes who suffered for centuries at the hand of the U.S. government receive some measure of compensation for their loss. They should be defeated, and if they come up for a vote this fall I will work to try and stop them.”

The bills are so toxic to Indians that the National Indian Gaming Association has sent out alerts to its members to marshal support for a counter-attack.

One amendment, by Rep. James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), would prevent the BIA from increasing the net amount of federal land under its jurisdiction, and would, according to NIGA, immediately stop all land-to-trust applications.

A second amendment, by Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pennsylvania), would prevent tribes from using money gained from land claims to acquire land to be used for a casino, which is something that only two tribes, one in New York and the other in Oklahoma, have done.

The McCain bill would prevent the BIA from putting land into trust if it is not within “reasonable commuting distance” from the tribe’s reservation, i.e., it would restore a Bush administration rule that the Obama administration just eliminated.

McCain’s bill would greatly increase the ability of state and local governments to oppose such an off-reservation application, which critics derisively call “reservation shopping.”

The bills appear to be a reaction against bills being proposed that would “fix” the 2009 Carcieri vs. Salazar U.S. Supreme Court decision that said that tribes recognized after 1934 cannot put land into trust.

McCain said the Carcieri issue is very controversial to Senate Republicans, and demonstrates that it may be hard to separate the issue of gambling from the Carcieri issue. This, despite the fact that of pending land-into-trust applications, only 1.5 percent involve gaming.

Which Arizona casinos have most violations?

Which Arizona casinos have most violations?
By: Joe Ducey
By: Maria Tomasch

PHOENIX - Going to the casino may be a favorite Arizona past time, but when you lose, is it just about bad luck?

The ABC15 Investigators are taking the first-ever look at years of slot machine reports to discover which casinos have the most problems.

WHAT THE ABC15 INVESTIGATORS UNCOVERED

The Arizona Department of Gaming does regular inspections of slot machines checking for evidence of tampering or mechanical failure that could affect your game.

We asked for records of every violation found in all 22 casinos across the state for the past three years, and found a total of 260 deficiencies or violations.

According to the state, the most common violation is when casinos do not replace revoked software. That happened more than 100 times. Old software could have a glitch, or it could just mean the machine needs upgrading.

Inspectors also found 86 issues with the belly doors. The concern here is that someone could be tampering with the machines. It's why filling out maintenance logs is required.

But inspectors cited 47 deficiencies where information was missing from logs, such as who went into the machine and why.

The ABC15 Investigators discovered not every slot machine receives a yearly state inspection. The Gaming Department picks about 50 machines from each casino to see if they are in compliance; 15 actually get tested for coin operation and working doors.



THE ARIZONA CASINOS WITH THE MOST VIOLATIONS

So, which casino has the most violations in Arizona over the last three years?

1) Casino del Sol just south of Tucson had the most with 67 violations. The biggest problem was revoked software.

2) Tonto Apache's Mazatzal casino in Payson had 58 violations, mostly having to do with hold percentages. That's how much the machine will pay out over its lifetime.

In Arizona, a machine has to pay out a minimum of 80% of what it takes in. The state has to approve any changes in the hold percentage of a machine.

3) The casino with the most violations in the Valley is Fort McDowell near Fountain Hills.

It had 21 violations over the last three years. The big problem there was revoked software.

Here are the casinos with the most violations in the state.

Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation-Fort McDowell Gaming Center, near Fountain Hills - 21 violations

Pascua Yaqui Tribe-Casino del Sol, Tucson - 67 violations

Pascua Yaqui Tribe-Casino of the Sun, Tucson - 10 violations: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Quechan Indian Tribe-Paradise Casino, Fort Yuma - 11 violations: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Tohono O'odham Nation-Desert Diamond Casino II, Sahuarita-south of Tucson - 30 violations: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Tonto Apache Tribe-Mazatzal Casino, Payson - 58 violations: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Navajo and Gambling Addiction

Casino industry strives to balance social issues with economic benefits

By Alysa Landry
The Daily Times

This is the fourth of a four-part series analyzing the growing local casino industry and its influence on life in the Four Corners region.

FARMINGTON — The most casual look at the patrons who frequent the two Navajo casinos shows the majority are residents of the Nation.

Statistics back up this observation, said Raymond Etcitty, general counsel for the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise. Most patrons come from surrounding communities. Fewer are tourists or passersby on the local highways.

Some Navajo patrons cash government or Social Security checks at the casino, then feed the bills into slot machines. The practice is cause for alarm among opponents of the gaming industry.

"A social dilemma is being created, and the amount of money coming back to the Nation, from an economic standpoint, is not being reported," said state Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock.

Begaye has spoken out against gaming on the reservation since discussions about it began. He also has cautioned about the tribe's poor record of financial accountability and social conditions that could lead residents to seek the get-rich-quick appeal of casinos.

Gaming may be especially devastating on the Navajo Nation, Begaye said. Part of the problem is the schedule of government-issued checks, he said. The appeal and availability of casinos may be too strong to resist for people holding checks at the beginning of the month.

"Health representatives will see this," he said. "What they will see is
pretty bleak in terms of addiction, poverty, alcohol abuse ... especially the first of the month when they receive their federal benefits, social service checks."

Approximately 85 percent of adults have gambled at least once in their lifetimes, with 60 percent of adults gambling in any given year, according to data from the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Of those who gamble, 2 to 3 percent are considered problem gamblers, and 1 percent are pathological gamblers, or those who are clearly addicted.

In numbers, that's 2 million U.S. adults who meet criteria for pathological gambling, and 4 million to 6 million who are problem gamblers, or those who do not meet full diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling, but who are experiencing problems because of gambling behavior.

Legal gambling is available in 48 states; Hawaii and Utah are the only exceptions.


Entertainment vs. addiction

Marilyn Lancelot, 80, of Sun City, Ariz., was 60 when she was arrested for activities stemming from a gambling addiction.

Lancelot, author of a self-published memoir, "Gripped by Gambling," was 52 when she first went into a casino. What started as entertainment, however, quickly got out of hand.

"After two years, I had maxed out my credit cards, spent all the money I had," she said. "Then I started to embezzle money from my employer. I gambled compulsively. It was out of hand. I had to have it."

Lancelot, who took $300,000 from her boss, was charged with 77 felonies and sentenced to two years in the Arizona State Prison, in Perryville, Ariz. She was released after 10 months.

Lancelot, who has not entered a casino for 20 years next month, is an advocate for others gripped by the gambling disease.

"If you combine the lights, the sounds, the colors, no clocks, no windows, you're a captive audience once you're in there," she said. "It's pretty hard not to put a coin in the machine because all you hear is the screaming, the hollering when someone wins."

Yet gambling addiction can lead to many social ills, Lancelot said. Recovering gamblers often face obstacles like divorce, alienation, suicidal thoughts, physical health issues and an inability to get or keep a job, she said.

"Slot machines are very addictive, they're mesmerizing, they get their teeth into you," she said. "They let you play faster and faster. It's like going downhill on a roller coaster. You can't stop until you get to the bottom."

Lancelot hit bottom when she was arrested, an occurrence that forced her to change her life and encouraged her to help others plagued with the same problems.

"For some people, it's very difficult to stay clean," she said. "It depends on the kind of bottom you hit. My bottom was pretty powerful and damaging and painful. I was a grandmother. My grandkids watched the police take me away in handcuffs. I lost two homes, my job, all my life savings."

Lancelot does not speak against casinos because they can do a lot of good for communities, tribes and states.

But she estimates that for every person struggling with a gambling addiction, seven other people also are affected.

"It's not to be minimized," she said of gambling. "It is not only damaging to the person, but to society around them."


Social responsibility of gaming

Former Farmington Mayor Bill Standley also spoke out against Indian gaming.

"It will help the chapters, but not the individuals," he said. "When other casinos, including SunRay, started up, the pawn business around here skyrocketed. People were pawning trucks, horse trailers, all kinds of personal objects to pay for gambling."

Standley also cited an increase in domestic violence incidents and other drawbacks that come with gaming.

"It doesn't really improve the economy," he said. "It might offer a few jobs, but it becomes more of a liability."

Yet the gaming industry comes with regulations that require tribes or private enterprises to pay into programs that offer assistance to people who become problem gamblers.

Early studies on the two operating Navajo casinos reveal the average daily bet is less than $25, Etcitty said. Although casinos never have operated on the reservation, they are opening to clientele largely experienced with gaming, he said.

"People are playing penny slots," Etcitty said. "They're just there to kill time. They look at it as a form of entertainment."

A 2006 report by the state Task Force of Compulsive Gambling estimated New Mexico has anywhere from 36,000 to 108,000 problem gamblers.

The money spent to provide treatment to problem gamblers in New Mexico steadily is increasing, according to reports from the New Mexico Council on Problem Gambling. Treatment funding comes from gaming donations that go into an Indigent Care Treatment Fund, a fund based on the assumption that problem gamblers have exhausted their own means to seek help.

The council spent nearly $28,000 on treatment in 2002. Problem gambling kept pace with the booming gaming industry, however, with more than $222,000 spent on treatment in 2009, the council reported.

The council, established in 1998, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help compulsive gamblers and their families by providing crisis intervention. It operates a 24-hour gambling-specific helpline, at 1-800-gambler.

No official reports on Navajo gaming yet were generated, but informal surveys show most Navajo citizens who frequent the casinos already were going to gaming facilities, Etcitty said. The introduction of casinos on the Navajo Nation simply decreases drive time for patrons and keeps the money local, he said.


Exclusions

The Navajo gaming enterprise trains all employees to watch for the warning signs of problem gamblers.

"Employees are trained twice per year to be able to notice possible gaming problems with individuals," Winter said. "We also train employees to approach individuals and make suggestions to them."

The New Mexico Gaming Control Board officially has excluded 18 people from licensed gaming establishments because they pose a threat to the public interest or licensed gaming activities. Many of the people officially excluded from gaming facilities also face charges of embezzlement, forgery or larceny, according to the New Mexico Gaming Control website.

Gaming enterprises offer a policy for patrons to exclude themselves if they determine gaming is getting out of hand. Excluded people are not allowed into gaming facilities.

"We do have a self-exclusion policy," Etcitty said. "When gaming is no longer entertainment, you can choose to exclude yourself."

Gambling addiction is a mental health issue stemming from an impulse-control problem, according to a definition from Williamsville Wellness, a Virginia-based gambling recovery program. The types of gambling that snare people with this disorder include sports betting, lottery tickets, poker, slot machines and Internet-based gaming.

Casino staff are trained to provide direction to problem gamblers, such as giving them a phone number for a hotline.


Other social issues

The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise also is ahead of the curve in addressing some of the other social issues that go hand-in-hand with gaming, Etcitty said.

One such issue is smoking.

Other local casinos field complaints about the constant smoke hovering above the playing floor, but the Navajo casinos will have computer-controlled air circulation systems to reduce smoke and provide a cleaner environment inside, Etcitty said.

Recognizing that as many as 40 percent of patrons may want to smoke while playing, the enterprise footed the bill for a high-tech ventilation system that moves the smoke from the floor up, Etcitty said.

"A smoking ban could cause us to lose 40 percent of revenue, so smoking must be authorized," he said. "But we will be the only casinos in the Southwest to have this ventilation system."

Navajo casinos also offer some of the largest non-smoking areas, Etcitty said.

"We will have our main smoking area, then the rest, the majority, of the casino will be non-smoking," he said. "Fire Rock has the biggest non-smoking ratio that we know of."


Future of gaming

Gaming officials painted a pretty picture of casinos when convincing the Navajo people to approve gaming on the reservation, which includes portions of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

New Mexico and Arizona allow tribal gaming while Utah does not, so none of the tribe's six proposed gaming facilities will be located in the strip of reservation land in southern Utah.

"We have 350 employees at Fire Rock," he said. "That's 350 families who now have someone working."

Flowing Water contributes another 62 jobs, bringing the total job creation to more than 400. That will double when the Upper Fruitland casino opens, and increase exponentially once a hotel and other amenities are added.

Arizona: Slot Barn Opposition

Ariz. tribe expands suit opposing casino project

PHOENIX (AP) - One Arizona Indian tribe says another has already used up a federal allotment being invoked to acquire the site for a proposed casino resort in a Phoenix suburb.

The Gila River Indian Community has casinos near Phoenix and it opposes the Tohono (toh-HO'-noh) O'odham Nation's project.

Gila River's original lawsuit alleges a federal agency acted illegally and skirted its own policies when it agreed to take land into trust on behalf of the nation.

Gila River is now asking a judge to accept an updated lawsuit contending that the Tohono O'odham's previous land purchases exceeded a cap set under federal law.

Tohono O'odham Chairman Ned Norris Jr. says his tribe is below the cap and that Gila River's filing is an attempt "to create confusion and delay."

Navajo Facing Criminal Charges

Navajo lawmakers turn to prayer amid investigation


WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. -- At least 77 current delegates to the 88-member Navajo Nation Tribal Council are charged with offenses including theft and fraud in the use of tribal funds. So when the lawmakers convened the last day of their fall session with customary prayer, the ritual quickly deepened into a quest for protection and purification.

Delegate Willie Tracey dipped an eagle feather in water and sprinkled it on the other lawmakers, who patted the drops on themselves in a gesture of absolution. One by one, they lined up and sipped more ceremonial water from a small wooden cup in the council chambers where colorful murals depict the tribe's history.

"Some will say that behavior of leaders needs to be corrected. People will see things like this have gone too far on our people and it need not be," said council Delegate Thomas Walker of the broad allegations. But he also held out this caveat, "(Some) people will perceive this as political persecution."


The lawmakers have faced heavy scrutiny since it was revealed last week that the majority of them have been charged in tribal court with any of five offenses - conspiracy, theft, abuse of office, forgery and fraud - in an investigation of how they spent discretionary funds intended for Navajos in need. The allegations say the money was used by some lawmakers on the nation's largest and deeply-impoverished Indian reservation to benefit themselves and their families.

The Tribal Council debates and makes decisions inside its historic, hogan-shaped chambers. Here, the council voted to give itself $31 million in discretionary funding during fiscal years 2005-2009, according to the tribe's budget office. Another $2.1 million was already budgeted.

The more than 270 criminal complaints released Wednesday in Window Rock charge lawmakers and two others with illegally taking nearly $1.9 million, according to court officials and a list published by the Navajo Times newspaper.

In some years, each delegate received several thousand dollars to distribute. Tribal policy prohibits lawmakers from engaging in conflicts of interest, particularly nepotism, in doling out the money.

This money is at the root of the charges against the tribal legislators, and they unwittingly initiated the investigation themselves.

A year ago, the council asked the tribe's attorney general to hire a special prosecutor to look into allegations that the tribal president, Joe Shirley Jr., had acted illegally and unethically in dealing with a satellite Internet company and a separate manufacturing business operating on the reservation.

The attorney general obliged, but then shocked council members by expanding the probe to include their use of the discretionary funds.

While special prosecutors have investigated a tribal chairman and past presidents, this is the first time an inquiry has targeted the council.

The special prosecutor law was enacted in response to the political turmoil involving former president Peter MacDonald, who survived a presidential primary even after the council suspended him from office in the face of corruption charges in 1989.


The complaints contend that lawmakers make too much money, an estimated $65,000 a year, to qualify for discretionary funds for themselves or their families. Guidelines say the funding should properly go to elderly Navajos on fixed incomes, college students, organizations in need or Navajos in emergency situations.

Many homes on the vast 27,000 square-mile reservation that extends into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona are without electricity and running water. Mobile phone service is spotty, and the unemployment rate hovers around 50 percent.

Tribal leaders often impress upon Navajos that they have an obligation to help family and neighbors who are in need, whether it be driving them to the polls, gathering firewood for winter, hauling water or delivering food.

Outside the council chambers last week, Delegate Ernest Yazzie defended the use of discretionary funds, saying, "It's our own people doing for their own people. What's wrong? At least us, we help the people."

Some say the charges filed by special prosecutor Alan Balaran in the latest probe are nothing but a ploy to defeat lawmakers seeking re-election on Nov. 2. More than half of the 48 candidates hoping for a seat on a reduced 24-member Tribal Council - the result of an election last year aimed at reforming the government - are incumbents.

"Nobody has imposed a deadline on him (Balaran), he's not trying to beat some statute of limitations," said David Jordan, an attorney representing one of the defendants. "There's only one date coming up that can possibly be the reason for the rush, and that's the election."

Balaran, a Washington lawyer who formerly investigated the destruction of documents in a multibillion lawsuit on behalf of American Indians who claimed the government mismanaged trust funds, declined to comment.

In the complaints, Balaran alleges that lawmakers lied on official documents to assert a hardship or emergency and other lawmakers "mysteriously" overlooked that point in issuing sometimes dozens of checks to their council colleagues and immediate family.

Joe Sandoval, a tribal member who was observing last week's final council session, said he doesn't see much action from the council in trying to restore balance, harmony and respect - the goal of many traditional prayers.

"What the council has done in the past has caught up with them," said Sandoval, of Whitehorse Lake, N.M., "and now it's firing back with all the fun with the money."

Elouise Brown, a Navajo environmental activist, said any lawmaker who can justify the payments outlined in the complaints should do so. She said she still supports tribal presidential candidate Ben Shelly, who faces charges of conspiracy, fraud and theft, because the former lawmaker was forthcoming about the charges and has explained his use of the money.

"That's the whole reason I believe in him - that what he's telling is the truth," Brown said.

According to the Navajo Times, the lawmakers are accused of individually taking from $650 to $279,175. Other charges reach beyond the council to more than three dozen non-lawmakers, said Samson Cowboy, director of public safety for the tribe.

Duane "Chili" Yazzie, a former elected official who has benefited from discretionary funds, said tribal officials often face intense pressure to give money to constituents. There's a lot of good intent, he says, but few checks and balances mean "there's bound to be abuse."

Could you tell Beacon Hill?

State lawmakers back suit against Glendale casino

PHOENIX -- Thirteen Arizona lawmakers have hopped on board a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Tohono O'odham Nation from building a Las Vegas-style casino in Glendale.

Republican State Sen. Russell Pearce is leading the charge. He says the state has a compact with Native American tribes that specifies no more casinos in Maricopa County.

"You violate that, it opens the floodgates for casinos all over the state, potentially," Pearce said Thursday as he and a dozen other Republicans announced they have filed a motion to intervene in a federal court suit filed by the city of Glendale.

"I think it's destructive," Pearce said. "There's evidence out that shows the cost for every dollar these casinos bring in costs the taxpayers about 2.1 dollars in social costs. It's a dangerous thing."



NO KIDDING? COULD YOU TELL BEACON HILL?



He also noted the proposed casino site is across the street from a high school.

Three separate lawsuits have been filed trying to stop the Tohono O'odham from getting reservation status for 54 acres of land it purchased years ago in the area of Westgate and the University of Phoenix Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona law restricts casinos to reservation land. The 54 acres is miles from the Tohono O'odham reservation proper, which is located west of Tucson. [Casino Shopping, anyone?]

The suits were filed by the city of Glendale, the Gila River Indian Community and three individual members of the Gila River Indian Community.

Supporters of the casino in Glendale claim it is allowed under a law signed by President Reagan in 1986.

Casino earnings in Ariz. fall 15%

Casino earnings in Ariz. fall 15%


Under the terms of a deal approved by voters, the tribes have exclusive right to operate casinos in the state.

In exchange, they agreed to provide a share of revenues to the state, on a sliding scale from 1 to 8 percent of gross revenues.


"We're loosening up a lot of our machines in order to give our players more value," said Wendell Long, chief executive of the casinos.

"We're also being more value-oriented on our food and beverage, offering a lot of specials, sort of like all-you-can-eat pasta, prime-rib specials, just so their dollars go farther."

It's also offering free entertainment Thursdays through Saturdays.

....Morago said, although marketing is important, casinos have to be careful with their plans.

The Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut sought to bring back their regulars by offering to trade their points on affinity cards for actual cash. The theory, Morago said, was that these people then would take their dollars and put them into the gambling machines, which didn't happen.

"People got their money, and they went home," she said.

Nevada: 5 Times Natl Average in Foreclosures

Where is there any indication that Beacon Hill is listening to this?

If Casino Gambling is the cure that Beacon Hill pretends, why is this happening?



Nevada Still Tops Nation In Foreclosures
Foreclosure Rate Five Times Naitonal Average

LAS VEGAS -- One in every 79 Nevada homes received a foreclosure filing last month, a number that ranks the state No. 1 in the nation.

That’s according to RealtyTrac, which reported the nationwide number of foreclosure filings fell 3 percent from April to May, although the number increased less than 1 percent from May 2009.

One in every 400 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing last month.

While Nevada still led the nation in foreclosure, last month saw a 12 percent decrease compared to April and a 16 percent decrease from May 2009, RealtyTrac reported.

Nevada’s foreclosure rate was five times the national average.

Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan rounded out the top five states with the highest foreclosure rates, respectively.

Don't they all have legalized slots?

Foreclosed homes are also staying on the market longer in Nevada, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported earlier this week.

Short sales have no replaced foreclosures as a driving force, with an estimated 29 percent of May sales coming from short sales.