The Catawba Indian Nation could bring video poker to its York County reservation and sue the state. News article, Oct 20th 2003.

Catawba Indian Nation Could Bring Video Poker

Oct 20th 2003

The Catawba Indian Nation could bring video poker to its York County reservation and sue the state if the tribe doesn't get a federally regulated bingo hall near Santee, the tribe's lawyer said Wednesday.

The tribe is citing its ability to survive economically as it plays political hardball in attempts to get a federal proposal passed that would help the tribe recoup revenue it claims to have lost to the S.C.Educational Lottery.The tribe's executive director said Wednesday the Catawbas could start their own lottery if they wanted.

South Carolina outlawed video poker in July 2000, but lawyer Jay Bender said the 1993 settlement between the tribe and the federal government allows the tribe to have bingo and video poker.

"The settlement makes it clear that the tribe can have video poker on the reservation, even if it is in a county or counties where it is prohibited," Bender said."The state has no moral position, because it is devastating the tribe's foremost enterprise.".

However, U.S.Rep.John Spratt, D-S.C., of York and one of the lawyers who helped broker the 1993 deal, disagrees.The settlement makes it clear that the tribe has a stance only as it applies to state law, Spratt said, which has banned video poker.

As for wanting video poker back in York County, Spratt said, "Absolutely not.".

York County Councilman Curwood Chappell said the county may not be able to legally fight video poker on the reservation, saying, "We can object and address it, but it is up to the feds.".

York County's lawyer, Melvin McKeown, could not be reached for comment.County Council Chairman Mike Short said he hadn't heard a word about the idea, but added, "I'd be disappointed if it happened.".

Tribe wants federal oversight.

The tribe wants a bingo hall in Orangeburg County along Interstate 95 that would operate under federal regulations -- not state regulations like the Rock Hill bingo hall -- which would allow it to network with other out-of-state Indian gambling operations and offer higher jackpots.The York County-based Catawba Indian Nation is recognized by the United States as a limited sovereign Indian nation.The recognition came with the 1993 federal and local settlement.The agreement stopped legal filings that could have launched 60,000 landowners in York, Chester and Lancaster counties into a court fight over compensation for 144,000 acres of Indian land taken in the 1840 Treaty of Nation Ford.

The settlement also grants the tribe special licenses to operate two bingo parlors, one of which must be in the boundaries of the original land claim.The Catawbas opened their Cherry Road parlor in 1997.

The tribe is fighting to get a proposal passed guaranteeing federal oversight of the Santee site under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a fight where U.S.Sen.Lindsey Graham's backing could be crucial.Bender called on Gov.Mark Sanford to get Graham, R-S.C., to get behind the bill if the governor has concerns that video poker could return "on his watch.".

Sanford, Graham, Spratt and others have expressed concerns that changes in regulation could lead to a casino in South Carolina, although the tribe has said a high-stakes casino is not planned.

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor's position remains that the Catawbas agreed to the settlement, and if the tribe wants any type of redress, the appropriate manner is through the General Assembly.It was the General Assembly that outlawed video poker in the state.

"You don't negotiate by making an end run," Folks said."It is not up to Senator Graham or Governor Sanford to handle it.".

South Carolina's other Senator, Democrat Ernest Hollings, has not opposed the Catawbas efforts to get under the federal act, and Rep.Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who represents the Santee area, is the congressional force behind the project.

Graham, a lawyer himself who opposed the lottery, said, "We lost, and we in South Carolina are now in the lottery business." He acknowledged Wednesday that a legal battle could be brewing if the Catawbas and state leaders can't agree on how to proceed, but said he wouldn't support any proposal without a consensus in South Carolina.

Federal experts are already looking at the issue, Graham said, as the Catawbas are one of only five tribes nationwide handled by state and not federal regulations.

"If you've lost part of the value of an agreement, people will try and recoup value that has been lost," Graham said."My advice is that the Catawbas and the governor and others sit down and work it out.

"My number one goal is not to do anything that expands gambling on my watch," Graham added.

The tribe and Sanford had met previously.Spratt said the issue "is primarily in the governor's hands now.".

Revenue down.

The tribe's bingo revenue since the introduction of the state lottery in January 2002 is down 54 percent, from more than $2 million in 2001 to just more than $900,000, Bender said.

The tribe had video poker machines at the bingo hall in Rock Hill before video poker was outlawed, Bender and tribal Executive Director Wanda George-Warren said, but revenues for 2001 versus 2002 show that it was the state-sponsored lottery that hurt the tribe.In 2001, after video poker was banned, the tribe's profits were higher than the year before.Profits didn't decline until the next year, after the lottery started.

"Our concern is for our tribal members," George-Warren said, adding federal cuts to programs like health care also are jeopardizing the tribe's financial viability."Video poker was discussed extensively during the settlement negotiations.If we wanted to, we could have a lottery.".

The tribe also announced another contingency if it gets the Santee operation under federal oversight: It would give South Carolina State University in Orangeburg up to $2 million every year to study tourism.

Bender said there is no timetable for tribal action on either the video poker or legal fronts.Lawsuits and video poker are not the choices the tribe wants, Bender said, but those are options it is planning for.

"The first choice, the clearest choice, the best choice, is Class II bingo at Santee," Bender said, referring to the designation that would allow the bingo hall to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and offer larger jackpots."That's the tribe's preference and the people of Santee's preference.".