Arizona voters approve gaming expansion

Michelle Rushlo

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

PHOENIX -- An initiative to expand Indian gambling in Arizona, increasing the number of slot machines allowed in Indian casinos and allowing them to offer house-banked blackjack, narrowly won voter approval in Tuesday's election.

Voters approved the initiative 51 percent to 49 percent, according to vote totals released Thursday. Although tens of thousands of ballots that needed to be verified by hand remained uncounted Thursday, voting trends indicate the "yes" votes will prevail.

Backers of the initiative, which included 17 tribes, raised more than $21 million to support the campaign.

It was the only one of the three gambling initiatives on Tuesday's ballot to win approval. The other two -- one supported by the Colorado River Indian Tribes and the other by dog and horse track owners -- were soundly defeated.

David LaSarte, a spokesman for Proposition 202 backers, was reluctant to declare victory early Thursday, saying he wanted to see more election returns.

"We're very encouraged by the trend, by the way the ballots are being counted," he said. "We'll see how the ballots come in and see if the trend continues.

"The tribes have worked three years on this. They're willing to wait a couple more days."

Proposition 202 was the outgrowth of a compact negotiated between most Arizona tribes and Gov. Jane Hull. The deal was never signed because dog and horse racetrack owners won a federal court ruling saying the governor didn't have the right to sign such deals and because the Legislature didn't approve it this year.

A recent ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals essentially preserved the governor's power to sign such deals, but the track owners are appealing.

Proposition 202 expands the number of slot machines allowed in Indian casinos and allows them to offer house-banked blackjack. Under current agreements, tribes cannot offer house-banked games.

In exchange, tribes will give between 1 percent and 8 percent of their gambling revenue to the state for a variety of youth and education programs. Currently, the state gets no money from the 22 casinos run by 15 tribes in Arizona.

Propositions 200 and 201 would have offered broader expansions of gambling in Arizona. Under 200, more machines and types of games would have been allowed at tribal casinos, while 201 would have also allowed slot machines at racetracks.

Under federal law, tribes must have compacts with the state to offer traditional slot machines and most other types of gambling. The first of the compacts signed during the 1990s by 15 Arizona tribes begin to expire in August.

Proposition 202 goes into effect after six tribes -- the Fort McDowell, Salt River Pima Maricopa, Gila River, Pascua Yaqui, Tohono O'odham and Ak-Chin -- sign the deal, said Christa Severns, spokeswoman for the state gaming department. The governor must also sign the agreement before it goes to the Interior Department for review.