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Gambling Banned in Washington Resort Area27 June 2003BLAINE, Washington -- The City Council has banned gambling on Semiahmoo Spit, the home of golf courses, sweeping views of Drayton Harbor and the Semiahmoo Resort. The Upper Skagit tribe, which manages Semiahmoo and the nearby Skagit Casino Resort, says it doesn't care. "This is a $30 million complex down here (at the Skagit Casino Resort). Why, in our right minds, would we want to duplicate that and compete with ourselves?" Skagit General Manager Don Guglielmino asked. "It's crazy." Some Blaine residents had expressed concerns about gambling at Semiahmoo since spring, when the Upper Skagit Tribe started managing it and bought a 50 percent interest in the property. The tribe owns and operates the Skagit Casino Resort near Bow, about 40 miles to the south. Guglielmino said it would be impossible to open a casino at Semiahmoo because the Upper Skagits have never claimed a historical use of Semiahmoo Spit -- a necessary step to opening a tribal casino. |