The 2002 gambling compact between the state of New York and the Seneca Nation Indians brought deliverance Friday of the $68 million dollar share of the tribe’s gambling profit for 2005.

According to the agreement, the Seneca tribe is obligated to give 18 percent of its casino slot machine revenues to the state. That number is slated to grow to 25 percent by the year 2010. The funds were derived from the Seneca Niagara Casino, ($45 million) and the Seneca Allegany Casino, ($23 million) located in Salamanca, Cattaraugus County. The latter locale nearly doubled its total revenue from the previous year. As the recognized “host communities� 25 percent of the states profits will go to the cities of Salamanca and Niagara Falls.

Barry E Snyder Sr., president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, noted that the tribe’s payment shows their commitment to honoring the agreement between his group and the state. Profits from the casino also ensure better housing, education and health care for the western New York tribe. With nearly 4,000 people employed at the two casinos, Snyder added that a foundation of economic growth is now becoming established in and around the region.

-Danny Davis

Lawyers representing the North Carolina Amusement Machine Association had a chance to state their case on Wednesday as a Superior Court judge heard arguments privately as to whether to avert the first phase of a newly approved legislation, that will eventually lead to the banishment of video poker machines next year. The North Carolina Amusement Machine Association, a slew of its member companies and some poker players filed a lawsuit approximately two weeks prior, questioning the constitutionality of the law that the General Assembly had approved in June.

The attorneys representing the association have requested that Wake County Judge Narley Cashwell issue a temporary restraining order that would block enforcement of the first phase of the new law until the lawsuit is heard in court. Cashwell listened to attorneys representing both sides of the argument for less than one half-hour in his Raleigh office. Gene Boyce, a Raleigh attorney for the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, commented that the judge plans to come to make a ruling on the matter no earlier than Thursday afternoon.

The machine operators want the restraining order before Sunday, which is the day that the number of video poker machines in operation is to be reduced from the current three to two as according to the new legislation. That number will be cut in half by March 1, 2007 with no machines to be left operating by July 1 of the same year. Repeat offenders or those who are caught operating with five or more machines will face felony charges.   

The lawsuit contents that the planned phase-out will deprive video poker machine owners of compensation for their banned machines ; violate equal-protection rights and void a state compact with the Cherokees that allows for the operation of a video gambling casino on their reservation. State attorneys have presented affidavits to Cashwell form at least two sheriffs arguing for the elimination of video poker machines in the state. Their reasoning being the difficulty in seizing the machines that offer illegal cash payouts. They also contend that families are being hurt by relatives who are addicted to playing such machines. “This should not continue, and if ratified legislation survives judicial review, it will not,� wrote Sidney Causey, the sheriff of New Hanover County, in his affidavit.

Association members maintain that they are operating  legal machines and that they have stayed within the limits of the law ever since a new round of restrictions had taken effect in 2000. According to the court officials, Carolina State law and Wake County court rules didn’t require Cashwell to hear arguments on the temporary restraining order in open court.

-Ryan Wallace

Attorney General Roy Cooper refused a request to halt a phase out of the approximately 10,000 video poker machines that are currently in operation across North Carolina today. A Raleigh law firm that represents video poker businesses based in North Carolina has disclosed today that they plan to file a lawsuit to overturn the ban. According to the legislature approved phase out, businesses are to begin removing one third of the machines by Oct. 1, with a total ban to come into effect on July 1,of next year .“The Attorney General believes the law is constitutional and that it’s also good public policy,� commented Melissa Lovell, a spokesperson for the Attorney General.

Attorneys Gene and Dan Boyce of the Raleigh law firm say that the new law is in fact unconstitutional. In a letter that was sent to Attorney General Cooper earlier this week, the two lawyers contend that video poker operators are being unfairly forced out business while the state offers gambling though a new lottery and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee is allowed to offer the gaming machines at a casino in Western North Carolina.

“Our clients believe enforcement of this new law is illegal and unconstitutional and they request that you file an action to determine whether (the video poker ban) is illegal or unconstitutional before they suffer substantial losses of property, income and unemployment,� the Boyces argued.

State law prohibits video poker machines from paying out more than $10 in merchandise, however, the Cherokee casino is exempt from the law. Because of the ability to easily covert the video poker machines to pay out thousands in winnings state and local law enforcement agencies have long insisted on banning them.

“We disagree with Mr. Cooper’s public policy that it’s better to sent millions of dollars out of the state to Harrah’s and GTECH and at the same time put over 100 mom-and-pop businesses out of business,� Dan Boyce explained. “We intend to file suit since he will not protect them.�

- Ryan Wallace

In a move that could send tens of billions of dollars directly into state coffers, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed deals with several Indian tribes allowing them to move forward with a plan to install thousands of new slot machines.

Three tribes who once operated 2,000 machines each will see that number almost triple to around 7,500 units, the administration said earlier this week. The latest deals which were announced on Wednesday, are somewhat of a contradiction for Schwarzenegger, who originally opposed unlimited gambling expansion on Indian lands. Two of the agreements include a deal that will see the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation install up to 3,000 machines at its El Cajon casino and resort and the Yurok Tribe enter the gambling fray with the introduction of 99 slots on its reservation in Humbolt and Del Norte Counties.

The deals which are generally signed for 30 years will significantly increase the amount gambling revenue paid annually to the state’s general fund. The contracts still must pass through the US Department of Interior and the State Legislature. The amount of pacts to be approved will be determined on Thursday before lawmakers adjourn for the year.

Part of Schwarzenegger’s campaign platform was ensuring voters that tribes would pay “a fair share� of gambling profits to the State. The Governor in signing the recent compacts said that they are a “great deal for the state, tribes and local communities.� Despite opposition from labor unions, and anti-gambling groups, it looks like California will forge ahead with deals that will allow for some of the largest slot parlors in the country, as even the biggest casinos in Las Vegas contain only 3,000 machines.

- Danny Davis

In a precedent setting move for the California labor sector, the House Assembly voted down a new lucrative gambling pact for the Agua Caliente band of Palm Springs by a 33-27 margin.

Falling eight votes short of passing on the eighty seat Assembly, two other gambling agreements were passed allowing for further expansion of tribal gaming in the state. With legislation approval, the Pechanga band of Temecula and the San Manual tribe of San Bernardino County will operate facilities with up to 7,500 slot machines. In the Agua Caliente case, organized labor leaders lobbied the Assembly to reject a ground-breaking compact that would see underpaid casino workers unable to organize for the purpose of negotiating a contract.

As a valued campaign contributor, the Agua tribe didn’t expect such a resounding defeat, and will be granted a second shot at passage on Thursday, before the legislation adjourns for the year. Whatever the outcome, the other tribes are sure to fall in line pending the final result. “The problem is, if we do this (for Agua Caliente) we have to do it for everybody,� according to one legislative source. With two casinos already under their belt, the new deal which must be approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would give the tribe a third casino and an additional 3,000 more slot machines. The previous compact, signed in 1999, permitted just 2,000 machines.

Although the tribe is regarded as a generous employer by industry standards, Democrat Paul Koretz of West Hollywood thinks the lack of collective bargaining protection that was present in previously signed Schwarzenegger pacts makes this proposal one worth passing over. “There is no reason to lower the bar in terms of employee protection,� Koretz said.

- Danny Davis