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South Carolina Residents Embrace Tribe's Bingo Proposal

SANTEE, South Carolina – As reported by the Associated Press: "Little by little, Patsy Clemons has watched this sleepy tourist town off Interstate 95 begin waking up during the past 20 years as new golfing and fishing attractions opened.

"A local shop owner, Clemons says a new bingo hall that promises to bring as many as 1,000 jobs and hundreds of tourists might be just what the town needs to complete its awakening.

"The Catawba Indian Nation has proposed building a high-stakes bingo hall in Santee, but the tribe has run into opposition from politicians who think the bingo hall eventually might turn into a full-fledged casino.

"In Orangeburg County, where about one in nine people were unemployed during the past year, many residents say they can only see the good.

"…Off Interstate 95, the outlet mall is a prime spot for a bingo hall to snag tourists along the Eastern corridor, says Catawba Chief Gilbert Blue. But in order for a bingo hall here to be lucrative, it must be regulated by the federal government, rather than the state, Blue says.

"…Several Republican members of South Carolina's congressional delegation, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and Reps. Jim DeMint and Gresham Barrett, also have expressed concerns over the legislation.

"…The tribe made about $34.6 million in gross revenue at its Rock Hill bingo parlor between 1999 and 2001 and paid nearly $3.5 million to the state in taxes during that time, according to a recently completed state audit…"

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