Monday, July 24, 2006

As reported by the Register Guard: "Governors wield what amounts to a veto
pen when it comes to off-reservation casinos. "Just ask the Arapaho and
Cheyenne tribes, which tried in 2004 to win the approval of Colorado Gov.
Bill Owens for an off-reservation casino near Denver's airport. Owens said
no, and that was that. "In Oregon, Gov. Ted Kulongoski has agreed to let the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs replace its Central Oregon casino with
one in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks. He signed a compact
last year with the tribe that allows the casino, while securing
environmental and labor safeguards plus millions of dollars for a college
scholarship fund. "While the governor and the tribes insist that such a move
sets no legal precedent, others say it sets a precedent of the political
sort. ".Kulongoski and Warm Springs leaders reject the notion that the Gorge
casino creates the 'if-you-let-one-tribe-move...' quandary that critics
portray it to be. ".'It's not a precedent because nobody else is going to
come forward with the same fact pattern,' said David Reese, Kulongoski's
legal counsel."