MADISON, Wis., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- "Governor Doyle still believes oversight of off-reservation casinos makes sense, as long it's the Ho-Chunk Nation and not the legislature doing the overseeing," said Brian J. Nemoir, Executive Director of Enough!, a grass-roots coalition apposed to the expansion of off-reservation gaming.
In a little know provision of the 2003 amendment to the Ho-Chunk Nation's (Ho-Chunk) gaming compact, the tribe would have the right of final refusal on any Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)-approved off-reservation casino. The Ho- Chunk's sweetheart deal works as follows; once the Governor has received a BIA-approved off-reservation determination from any tribe other than the Ho- Chunk, the state would notify the Ho-Chunk in writing within sixty days. Within sixty days of the receipt of the notice, if the Ho-Chunk determines and notifies the state that such an expansion would substantially decrease gaming revenues, "the Governor of the State shall not concur." (Please see end of release for cite and full text.)
"The Ho-Chunk has bought the keys to the state's gaming kingdom in return for their $500,000 contribution to Governor Doyle's campaign," said Nemoir. "The $500,000 in campaign cash has paid repeated dividends for the tribe who through their 2003 Doyle-negotiated compact amendment will soon operate more gaming facilities than any other tribe, and have the unique ability to stop other tribe's off-reservation expansion in the state."
"Governor Doyle has chosen the Ho-Chunk Nation to be the state's 800-lb gaming gorilla, allowing them to rove the state and build five new facilities, bullying the other tribes while becoming the king of gaming in the state."
The 2003 amendment to the Ho-Chunk compact permits six new casinos in the five specified counties (Dane, Sauk, Wood, Jackson(2) and Shawano Counties) five of which would require nothing more than Governor Doyle's signature. The Doyle-approved compact also provides a generous and little-known loophole allowing five of the six new casinos to be built without any sort of local approval or input. The same compact also allows the five new gaming facilities to provide unlimited gaming as long as 50% of the property is used for purposes other than gaming.
"The state's reward for the Governor's signing such a generous compact with the Ho-Chunk is having the tribe default on the $100 million it owes the state in back payments," said Nemoir. "The state has opened the equivalent of an interest-free house account for the tribe, allowing the Ho-Chunk to make payments on a debt whenever convenient while expanding their gaming operations at will."
Last week, Ho-Chunk made a $30 million dollar payment towards the $100 million it owes the state. The announcement was made two days prior to the tribe announcing it would be locating its next gaming facility in Shawano, on an "ancillary site" not requiring any local or state approval.
"We are coming upon the golden age of gaming expansion in this state without legislative oversight," said Nemoir. "It is obvious that the governor won't say no to tribal gaming interests, and believes our interests are best- served by giving tribal gaming interests the ability to write the rules governing gaming."
To help provide oversight of the reckless expansion of gaming engineered by Governor Doyle, Enough! supports legislative oversight of off-reservation casinos (AB 461). AB 461 passed both the Assembly and the Senate with bi- partisan support. Prior to taking office, and receiving over $1 million in tribal campaign contributions, Governor Doyle was an advocate of legislative oversight.
Paragraph 9 of the Amendment shall be modified by deleting it in its entirety and substituting in its place the following paragraph:
If any Indian tribe ("tribe") other than the Nation, submits an application to the Secretary of the Interior ("Secretary"), under 25 U.S.C S2719(b)(1)(a), and receives a determination ("Determination") that the proposed gaming establishment ("Establishment") on off-reservation trust lands acquired by the United States for the tribe after January 1, 2003, is in the best interest of that tribe and its members and is not detrimental to the surrounding community, the State shall send a written notice ("Notice") to the Nation that it has received a submission from the Secretary to concur in the Determination. The Governor of the State SHALL NOT CONCUR in the determination if the Nation has notified ("notified") the State, within sixty (60) days of the receipt of Notice, that the operation of the Establishment will cause a substantial reduction ("Reduction") of Class III gaming revenues at any of the Nation's existing gaming facilities, unless the State has entered into a binding indemnification agreement with the Nation to compensate it for the Reduction, or the mandatory negotiations required herein have concluded and the binding arbitration procedures have commenced.
Enough! is a growing and diverse grassroots coalition opposed to the expansion of off-reservation gambling in Wisconsin. For more information please contact Brian J. Nemoir, Executive Director at 608.268.6777 or visit: www.enoughwi.com