Monday, April 19, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.
AUSTIN, Texas -- As lawmakers weigh the pros and cons of legalizing video gambling at horse and dog racetracks to help fund Texas schools, two Indian tribes anticipate whether passage of the legislation might put them back in business.
Casinos run by the Tiguas in El Paso and the Alabama-Coushattas in Livingston were shut down in 2002 after a long legal battle. Sen. John Cornyn, who was Texas attorney general at the time, fought to get the casinos closed, saying state law prohibited casino gambling. A federal court agreed.
A special legislative session set to begin Tuesday will address new funding methods for public schools and one of the proposals calls for allowing video gambling at racetracks and the state collecting taxes on the receipts. Republican Gov. Rick Perry wants to abolish the share-the-wealth, or Robin Hood, system because it relies heavily on property taxes.
If the video gaming measure passes, it would likely open the doors again of the tribal casinos.
"From the tribe's perspective, it's a huge economic engine," Mark Schwartz, a representative of the Tigua tribe, said. "For almost eight years prior to 2002, (the casino) provided much needed revenue to solve housing, health care and education challenges."
Both tribes would have to sign contracts with the state stipulating that video slot machines would be the only form of gambling on the reservations, no card or dice games, Perry spokesman Robert Black said.
The governor's office estimates the state would raise about $1 billion a year, including revenue from the reservations, from video gambling. The money would be pumped into public schools to help replace funds lost by cutting property taxes.
There are a few hurdles, though, before the tribes can plug in the video slot machines.
Anti-gambling interests are lobbying hard against the proposal. Some critics question whether gambling is the right money source for schools. Plus, the measure would have to be approved by the Legislature, then a constitutional amendment would have to be approved by voters.
Weston Ware, legislative director of Texans Against Gambling, and other opponents have nicknamed video lottery terminals the "crack cocaine of gambling" for their addictive fast and easy style of play.
According to a study cited by the Christian Life Commission, an arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, "pathological" gambling addiction occurs three times more quickly with video lottery terminals, because of their "speed and hypnotic nature."
Perry defended his use of gambling and other so-called sin taxes to raise revenue for children, calling them taxes on "voluntary, and often unhealthy, behavior." He has also proposed raising taxes on cigarettes and imposing a tax on adult entertainment.
Texas' only legal casino is in Eagle Pass near the Mexico border, about 120 miles southwest of San Antonio. The Lucky Eagle casino is operated by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas and offers blackjack, poker, slot machines and bingo. Kickapoos have federal tribal status that allows gambling, while Texas' two other tribes have more restrictive state charters that currently don't allow gambling.
Schwartz said Tigua casino's operation helped provide its tribal members with jobs, money to sent their children to college and reduced crime rates on the reservation.
"Since the casino closed, the area suffered a huge economic downturn, with the loss of 1,000-plus jobs," Schwartz said.
Talks between the tribes and Perry's office stretch back to at least December, and at that time Kevin Battise, vice chairman of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe, said "Indian gaming can and should be a part of the solution to the Texas public school finance crisis."
Schwartz agreed.
"It certainly has all of the earmarks of being a win-win situation for both the state and the school children of Texas, as well as the economic viability and self-sufficiency of the tribe," he said.
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