Gaming briefs for Jan. 16, 2004

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Vegas firm recommended for downtown casino

ST. LOUIS -- Two St. Louis city development commissions on Thursday tapped Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas to operate a downtown casino complex, nudging out a rival proposal by Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. of Biloxi, Miss.

The move comes a day after a St. Louis County selection panel deferred until Feb. 10 its deciding between the two companies to operate a companion casino in the county.

The Missouri Gaming Commission ultimately has final say about any new casino licenses.

Oklahoma tribe sues for land

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- An Oklahoma-based Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to formally stake its claim to 315 acres of land in northeastern Pennsylvania in a quest to operate a gambling facility in the state.

The Delaware Nation of Anadarko, Okla., claims to have ancestral ties to a parcel of land now occupied by a Crayola crayon factory and private homes.

It claims that the land was granted to a Delaware chief named Tetamy by the descendants of William Penn in 1738, and that there is no record of the tribe's title to the land ever changing hands, despite the claims of other landowners during the last 200 years.

The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, comes as state lawmakers prepare to resume an ongoing debate over legalizing slot-machine gambling in Pennsylvania to raise money to reduce local residential property taxes.

"Either the Delawares will be part of the legislative solution currently under consideration by the Legislature, or else the Delawares will look to the federal courts to help them secure the property that was wrongfully taken from them two centuries ago," Stephen A. Cozen, an attorney for the tribe, said.

Executives fight indictment

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Former top executives with the Lincoln Park gambling center and racetrack have asked the U.S. District Court to dismiss charges stemming from an alleged bribery scheme, saying the case is "ill-conceived" and "fatally-flawed."

In motions filed Thursday in Providence, lawyers for Lincoln Park and two of its chief executives, here and in London, also stated there is no evidence that any public official knew of the alleged bribery conspiracy.

A federal criminal indictment handed up in September charged the park itself, its chief executive, and the chief executive of its parent company in London with conspiring, in 2000 and 2001, to pay up to $4.5 million to then-House Speaker John Harwood's law firm for help in winning approval from lawmakers for more video slots and blocking a proposed casino.