Gaming briefs for July 21, 2003

Monday, July 21, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

City studying gambling issues

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mayor Paul Pate says he will appoint a commission to advise the city on the role it should play should gambling come to the city.

"We want to lay out the groundwork," Pate said. "If gambling passes, what would be the best situation for the community?"

The commission won't take a position on the gambling issue, Pate said.

"It's not about being pro or con in the election," he said. "We want to look at what has been done right, if we're going to do it."

Leaders of a citizen group, Citizens for a Riverboat Casino, say they have enough signatures to petition for a countywide vote on gaming this fall.

Even if voters approve gambling for Linn County, a casino is far from a done deal.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission agreed Friday to study the effect additional gambling licenses would have on the state. In deciding to study the issue, the state commission delayed a vote on lifting a moratorium on new gambling licenses.

Residents worry about Indian bingo plan

SANTEE, S.C. -- Plans by the Catawba Indian Nation to open a bingo operation on Interstate 95 here is getting mixed reviews from local residents.

The Catawbas want to open a high-stakes bingo hall on a 100-acre piece of land occupied now by Santee Outlets Mall.

The Catawbas are the state's only tribe that is federally recognized and permitted to run a gaming enterprise in the state. They won the right to operate a high-stakes bingo hall in Rock Hill as part of a 1993 land claim settlement with local, state and federal governments. The settlement permits a second bingo facility elsewhere in the state.

"Unfortunately, the town will receive no revenue from the bingo operation," Mayor Silas Seabrooks said. "It is not within our power to do anything about this project either way. I certainly hope that it will bring badly needed jobs to the area."

Some residents question whether the jobs will go to outside workers or tribe members.

"How can the tribe promise thousands of new jobs? We need to have more detailed information before we take a position," said Ray Moran, co-owner of Lil's Gifts and Collectibles and a member of the Santee Business Association.

His wife, Roz, wonders about the impact on traffic, "it will be horrendous getting off I-95."