Gov. Pawlenty, tribes set for casino rollout

Patrick Condon

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 9:18 a.m.

ST. PAUL -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty and leaders from three northern Minnesota Indian tribes will tour the state today to announce a partnership on a new casino in the Twin Cities area.

Any deal struck between Pawlenty and the tribes still would face difficult terrain in securing approval by the Legislature.

The executive director of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, one of the tribes, said Thursday that the deal reached in negotiations between the Pawlenty administration and tribal leaders calls for only one metro casino. A number of legislative leaders said it would be an easier sell if it included authorization to place slot machines at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, which many legislators support.

"Our bill is only going to be for one casino," said Ron Valiant, White Earth executive director. "We keep getting linked to the racino, but our bill is for one casino."

Pawlenty's office said the governor and tribal leaders are flying around the state to announce and discuss the plan. Events are planned for St. Paul, Moorhead, Duluth and Rochester.

Pawlenty's office would not release details of the negotiations with the tribes or what's included in the final plan.

Sen. Sandy Pappas, the senator who plans to sponsor Pawlenty's bill, said there's still strong opposition in the Senate to expansion of gambling. Indeed, a bipartisan group of senators opposed to new gambling have scheduled a news conference to immediately follow Pawlenty this morning.

House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said he hadn't been briefed on the governor's plan but predicted it could pass the House -- as long as Canterbury Park gets slots, too.

"In combination with racino -- it passes," Sviggum said.

Pawlenty's office could keep the two plans separate for now and bring in the Canterbury Park proposal later in the session.

Three tribes -- White Earth; the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe; and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa -- have been negotiating with the governor's office since Pawlenty decided to embark on a new casino.

That came after southern Minnesota tribes that own metro-area casinos rejected Pawlenty's request that they share a portion of their casino profits in exchange for a continued monopoly in the Twin Cities gambling market.

Those tribes strongly oppose new casinos, especially in the Twin Cities area.

"I think the governor has come full circle in dishonoring himself and the word he gave to tribal leaders that he would not expand gambling," said John McCarthy, head of the southern tribe-aligned Minnesota Indian Gaming Association.

As Pawlenty originally proposed it, the three northern tribes would pay the state $200 million as a licensing fee, then the state would earn about $114 million a year after that from the casino.

No location for the casino has been set, but sites mentioned include Anoka County, Burnsville or locating the state-tribal casino itself at Canterbury Park. The owners of Bloomington's Mall of America want to open a casino there, but face significant opposition from local elected officials.

Pappas said trying the casino and slots at Canterbury Park proposals together could make the plan go down easier -- but also carries significant risks.

"It could go either way," Pappas said. "Sometimes these things fall with the additional weight."