http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/07/3296849/with-bill-signing-las-vegas-style.html
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Posted: Thursday, Jun. 07, 2012
Las Vegas-style card games expected to debut July 4th at Cherokee casino
By John Frank
Published in: Politics
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RALEIGH North Carolina’s Cherokee casino expects to offer live games like blackjack, roulette and poker starting July 4 after state lawmakers put aside concerns about the morality of gambling and approved legislation legalizing Las Vegas-style games on tribal lands.
Gov. Bev Perdue signed the bill minutes after the Senate gave it final approval Wednesday, touting gaming as an financial boon for economically depressed areas in western North Carolina.
“It’s a deal that puts money in the classrooms of North Carolina for kids, it helps us get 400 new jobs in the West and the derivatives from the economic development activities of the tribe will be remarkable for us,” said Perdue, a Democrat.
The legislation enables a new 30-year gaming compact between the state and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians that permits live dealers and two new casinos on tribal lands, adding hundreds of millions in revenues.
In exchange, the state will receive a small percentage of the revenue from the new games, estimated at $2 million to $3 million a year. The initial money is directed toward education but it is not guaranteed in future years.
Chief Michell Hicks said the additional revenue will be used to improve the lives of the tribe’s members.
“Our covenant is we are not spenders we are investors,” he said. “We invest in the future of our people through jobs, through higher education.”
The compact must receive one final review from the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a process that could take as long as 45 days.
Hicks acknowledged his July goal is ambitious but he expects the federal government to quickly sign off on the deal. “The old saying is if you don’t make it July 4th weekend in Cherokee, then you could be hurting in the winter,” Hicks said after the signing. “It’s our biggest weekend of the year.”
The landmark legislation boosting the tribe’s Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, an hour west of Asheville, comes after years in which state lawmakers have moved to limit gambling in the state. The issue sparked a heated debate in the legislature earlier this week with an odd coalition of socially conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats seeking to defeat the bill. Critics cited the moral ills of gambling in a debate with echoes of the discussion years earlier on the controversial state lottery.
Supporters said the live dealers would merely replace machines dispensing cards and cited a tribe-sponsored study showing the casino generates about $380 million in economic benefits and attracts 3.6 million annual visitors to the region.
Lawmakers curtailed the original compact to limit the number of new casinos, but a majority of House Republicans still voted in opposition. It passed by a 68-49 vote Tuesday and the Senate endorsed the final version Wednesday.
A half dozen lobbyists helped push the bill through the legislature and the tribe gave nearly $1 million to political candidates in the last five years, including to Perdue, whose office negotiated the terms of the agreement.
Perdue used the bill signing to trumpet bipartisan politics, saying it is “a terrific example of how we can still work together and defy the unfortunate expectations of a polarized and often contentious political environment.”
The accord came after two decades of negotiations. Gov. Jim Hunt reached the previous compact in 1994. The state receives no revenue from the existing games and still won’t under the new deal, an issue that led critics to question whether the governor was getting the best deal.
Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate for governor, initially expressed such concerns but he refused to take a position on the final version. A spokesman said McCrory isn’t paying attention to the “minutiae” at the legislature. Democratic nominee Walter Dalton said he supports the compact.
The next governor will oversee the terms of the deal that allows for expanded gambling. Hicks said he expects the tribe to build its first new casino in the next five years with another constructed five years later on tribal lands in five western counties. The tribe is looking at property it owns closer to the Atlanta area, the main customer base for its current operation.
But for the moment, Hicks said he is trying to make the games a reality in the next four weeks. He is negotiating with Caesars to bring casino workers from across the country to run the new games until a local staff is trained.
The initial weekend will feature live dealers on some, but not all, table games, he said, with full implementation expected in three months.
Frank: 919-829-4698
Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer.
Printed from the Charlotte Observer - www.CharlotteObserver.com
Posted: Thursday, Jun. 07, 2012
Las Vegas-style card games expected to debut July 4th at Cherokee casino
By John Frank
Published in: Politics
Related Stories
Related Images
RALEIGH North Carolina’s Cherokee casino expects to offer live games like blackjack, roulette and poker starting July 4 after state lawmakers put aside concerns about the morality of gambling and approved legislation legalizing Las Vegas-style games on tribal lands.
Gov. Bev Perdue signed the bill minutes after the Senate gave it final approval Wednesday, touting gaming as an financial boon for economically depressed areas in western North Carolina.
“It’s a deal that puts money in the classrooms of North Carolina for kids, it helps us get 400 new jobs in the West and the derivatives from the economic development activities of the tribe will be remarkable for us,” said Perdue, a Democrat.
The legislation enables a new 30-year gaming compact between the state and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians that permits live dealers and two new casinos on tribal lands, adding hundreds of millions in revenues.
In exchange, the state will receive a small percentage of the revenue from the new games, estimated at $2 million to $3 million a year. The initial money is directed toward education but it is not guaranteed in future years.
Chief Michell Hicks said the additional revenue will be used to improve the lives of the tribe’s members.
“Our covenant is we are not spenders we are investors,” he said. “We invest in the future of our people through jobs, through higher education.”
The compact must receive one final review from the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a process that could take as long as 45 days.
Hicks acknowledged his July goal is ambitious but he expects the federal government to quickly sign off on the deal. “The old saying is if you don’t make it July 4th weekend in Cherokee, then you could be hurting in the winter,” Hicks said after the signing. “It’s our biggest weekend of the year.”
The landmark legislation boosting the tribe’s Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, an hour west of Asheville, comes after years in which state lawmakers have moved to limit gambling in the state. The issue sparked a heated debate in the legislature earlier this week with an odd coalition of socially conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats seeking to defeat the bill. Critics cited the moral ills of gambling in a debate with echoes of the discussion years earlier on the controversial state lottery.
Supporters said the live dealers would merely replace machines dispensing cards and cited a tribe-sponsored study showing the casino generates about $380 million in economic benefits and attracts 3.6 million annual visitors to the region.
Lawmakers curtailed the original compact to limit the number of new casinos, but a majority of House Republicans still voted in opposition. It passed by a 68-49 vote Tuesday and the Senate endorsed the final version Wednesday.
A half dozen lobbyists helped push the bill through the legislature and the tribe gave nearly $1 million to political candidates in the last five years, including to Perdue, whose office negotiated the terms of the agreement.
Perdue used the bill signing to trumpet bipartisan politics, saying it is “a terrific example of how we can still work together and defy the unfortunate expectations of a polarized and often contentious political environment.”
The accord came after two decades of negotiations. Gov. Jim Hunt reached the previous compact in 1994. The state receives no revenue from the existing games and still won’t under the new deal, an issue that led critics to question whether the governor was getting the best deal.
Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate for governor, initially expressed such concerns but he refused to take a position on the final version. A spokesman said McCrory isn’t paying attention to the “minutiae” at the legislature. Democratic nominee Walter Dalton said he supports the compact.
The next governor will oversee the terms of the deal that allows for expanded gambling. Hicks said he expects the tribe to build its first new casino in the next five years with another constructed five years later on tribal lands in five western counties. The tribe is looking at property it owns closer to the Atlanta area, the main customer base for its current operation.
But for the moment, Hicks said he is trying to make the games a reality in the next four weeks. He is negotiating with Caesars to bring casino workers from across the country to run the new games until a local staff is trained.
The initial weekend will feature live dealers on some, but not all, table games, he said, with full implementation expected in three months.
Frank: 919-829-4698
Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer.
