Gaming News

South Dakota tribe wants more slots

SOUTH DAKOTA – As reported by the Rapid City Journal: "When Oglala Sioux Tribe chairman John Yellowbird Steele looks toward the future of gambling on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, he sees more slot machines and more people to play them.

"That's a vision that could hold great promise for the tribe's economic future. But it also is an undeniable benefit to the state, Steele said.

"…But Steele's picture of prosperity comes with clear complications. An expansion plan for the tribe's existing Prairie Winds Casino — an ambitious venture that includes a new hotel and conference center aimed at making the isolated casino into a full-fledged destination — could hinge at least in part on adding more slot machines.

"And right now, the Oglala and seven other Sioux tribes in South Dakota with casinos are bound by contracts with the state to a limit of 250 slots. Although Steel wouldn't discuss his tribe's compact situation or other gambling issues last week, some tribal officials say the state restrictions on slot-machine numbers hamper the growth of tribal gambling on their reservations.

"…They might have to continue that wait. Provisions of federal law grant tribes the right to operate the same types of gambling allowed elsewhere in the state and require tribes to have gambling compacts with the state. They also require the states to negotiate those contracts in good faith…"

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