Video Poker 247
- Catawba Cannot Have Video Poker Per Court
The Catawba Indian Nation has been trying to get video poker even
though the state had made them illegal seven years ago. They have been
arguing that they are entitled to video poker per their 1993 land
settlement with the state. However, a judge disagreed with their
reasoning.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused, without comment, to hear the tribe’s
appeal of the video poker ruling. The state has claimed that they are
subjected to the rules of the state and their gambling laws, and if
they say that video poker is illegal, then video poker is illegal –
end of case. But the tribe says that they are entitled to it, even
though the rest of the state is not.
The tribe admitted that they don’t even really want the video poker
games, but were simply trying to use the leverage that they would have
gained from a positive ruling to build a high stakes bingo parlor in
York County instead. Their attorney says that even though video poker
has been ruled out, they will continue to fight for that bingo parlor
instead. He said that "the tribe has to find economic development
activities within the artificial constraints imposed by the state."
They have been trying for years to get a bingo hall, and North Myrtle
Beach fought and won against them earlier, so now they are tryingn
somewhere else. They say that their agreement with the state says that
they are allowed two locations within the state, and they know that
one of them is going to be on their 144,000 acres – while the other
one has to be in the state somewhere. They must get approval from
local government to do so however, and that is where the hold up seems
to be.
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October 2007 Archive
