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Texas Tribe Pushes on With Gambling Plans28 October 2001BEAUMONT, Texas – Oct. 28, 2001 – As reported by the Associated Press: "The Alabama-Coushatta tribe of East Texas is moving ahead with casino plans despite a federal court ruling prohibiting gambling, the tribe's chairman said. "`In Texas there's the lottery, bingo, horse racing, dog racing,' Tribal Council Chairman Kevin Battise told the Beaumont Enterprise. `We believe we're legal, and if everything goes right, we're going to have gaming here.' "`We believe it's our sovereign right.' "…However, state Attorney General John Cornyn won a major round Sept. 27 when U.S. District Judge Garnett Thomas Eisele granted Texas a permanent injunction against the Tigua tribe's Speaking Rock Casino near El Paso. "…Jane Shepperd, a Cornyn spokeswoman, added that the 1987 law that established the Alabama-Coushatta reservation also prohibited illegal gambling. The lottery, racing and other forms are legal in Texas, while slot machines and other casino games are not. "…Shepperd says the Tigua ruling applies to the Alabama-Coushatta. Battise calls her office's attitude `mean-spirited.' "The chairman of the impoverished tribe admits the expensive, ongoing renovations are the first big wager…" |