Non-Indian interests push for electronic gambling

Paul Queary

Monday, Jan. 27, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- More than a thousand card dealers and other non-Indian gambling activists rallied last week in favor of a proposal to dramatically increase the number of electronic gambling machines in Washington.

The machines, similar to slot machines without the lever, are currently legal only in Indian casinos.

That gives tribal operations an unfair advantage, non-Indian gambling interests argue.

"We're not here tribe-bashing, we're just for fairness and equity," Gerald Boyd, a blackjack dealer at the Silver Dollar in Tacoma, told a raucous crowd that rally organizers estimated at more than 2,000.

The Silver Dollar is a non-tribal minicasino that is limited to poker and variations on blackjack.

Business has fallen off at the Silver Dollar as electronic gambling has grown at tribal casinos, Boyd said. Indian casinos also offer traditional games such as craps and roulette.

"Are you going to go to a buffet that only has two or three items, or are you going to go to a buffet with the full-meal deal?" Boyd said.

The Entertainment Industry Coalition's proposal would allow the machines in venues including non-tribal card rooms, bars, taverns, private clubs and charitable organizations.

That would be a dramatic expansion of gambling in Washington. Many such establishments are currently limited to pull-tabs.

The coalition hopes lawmakers will approve the idea because it comes with about $200 million in new taxes to help with the budget deficit. A similar proposal died last year, along with Gov. Gary Locke's proposal to impose state tax on existing non-tribal minicasinos.

"I'm going to guess that it's going to have fair play this year because of the budget," said Rep. Jim Clements, R-Selah, who spoke at the rally.

However, the proposal faces an uphill battle. Expanding gambling requires a 60 percent majority in both the House and the Senate.

Indian tribes will likely fight hard against the proposal, along with various antigambling forces.

The tribes reject the notion that they pay no taxes, arguing that their gambling revenue goes to pay for vital tribal services.

They also argue that the coalition's proposal could triple the number of gambling machines in Washington virtually overnight, in hundreds of places that are easier to get to than most tribal casinos.

"Do they really want Washington state to turn into Nevada?" said Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe and president of the Washington Indian Gaming Association. "Do they really want to find the saturation point of the gambling industry in Washington?"