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Wisconsin Tribes See Uneven Gambling Returns

RED CLIFF, Wisconsin – As reported by the Associated Press: "On the 15,000-acre Indian reservation here, piles of garbage line vacant lots, and burned-out cars sit near homes. The 4,000-member tribe, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, is one of the state's poorest, with about a quarter of all families on the reservation living in poverty.

"Gambling - at the tribe's tiny casino in a former bowling alley - has done little to improve their lives. An Associated Press review of census figures found that a decade of tribal gambling in Wisconsin has spread the wealth unevenly among 11 Indian reservations here, bringing phenomenal increases in living standards to two but leaving nine struggling with poverty.

"…The AP review showed that the Potawatomi and Oneida reservations saw their incomes skyrocket and their poverty rates plummet between 1990 and 2000.

"But despite sometimes significant improvements in living standards, eight of the state's 11 tribal reservations still had higher poverty rates in 2000 than the state average. Nine remained below the state's median household income level in the 2000 census.

"…Alan Meister, an economist with the Los Angeles-based Analysis Group who studies the economic impact of gambling, said such disparities among Indian casinos are typical around the country. How much money they make depends on what sorts of amenities they offer, how much competition they face, and how convenient their locations are to gamblers, he said.

"'Location is a major, major factor, but the quality of the facilities really makes a difference,' he said.

"All together, the 11 Wisconsin tribes made more than $400 million in profits in 2002 at their 23 casinos, up nearly 60 percent in five years, according to a legislative report…"

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