Colville Casino Slot Machines Confiscation

SPOKANE (AP) - A pair of Eastern Washington Indian tribes ordered to unplug casino slot machines are launching legal and public relations campaigns to keep the wheels spinning. Lawyers for the Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Colville Confederated Tribes planned to file motions today asking U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle to stay his Dec.

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— Dec 18th, 1998

SPOKANE (AP) - A pair of Eastern Washington Indian tribes ordered to unplug casino slot machines are launching legal and public relations campaigns to keep the wheels spinning.

Lawyers for the Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Colville Confederated Tribes planned to file motions today asking U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle to stay his Dec. 10 ruling while appeals are pending.

Van Sickle ruled that more than 1,800 gambling machines in the tribes' reservation casinos are illegal under federal law and approved civil forfeiture of the machines.

Contending that loss of the machines will devastate reservation economies, tribal leaders want to ask the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn Van Sickle's ruling.

But to do so, they must first ask Van Sickle to stay his order and allow the slots to operate while the appeal works its way through the courts, a process that could take a year or more.

Colville Casino Slot Machines Confiscation

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Shively said the government will oppose a stay and ask that the machines at least be unplugged, if not physically removed.

The Spokane and Colville tribes are the only ones in Washington state to operate the gambling devices that are common in Nevada casinos. Tribes in two dozen other states, including Oregon, operate slots under compacts with the states or special legislation.

Tribal leaders contend loss of the slot machines, which represent as much as 90 percent of their casinos' take, would be an economic disaster for the tribes and the region.

Spokane tribal leaders planned to build a display of cans of food on the steps of the U.S. Courthouse in Seattle today to represent the number of casino jobs that will be lost if the slots are unplugged.

The Spokanes claim loss of the slots will put about 600 people out of work and mean the loss of $1.6 million in annual revenues devoted to tribal health and social services programs.

Meanwhile, the Colvilles have started a letter campaign to Attorney General Janet Reno and other federal officials in support of the tribal gaming industry.

'We ask that our employees, our tribal members, our friends and neighbors and our community supporters stand by us,' tribal business council chairman Joe Pakootas said.

Casino Slot Machines Winners

Dec 31st, 1998

SPOKANE (AP) - Unplugging slot machines in casinos operated by two Washington state tribes would create undue hardships, a federal judge said Wednesday in agreeing to stay his order to remove the gambling devices. The more than 1,200 slot machines will continue to operate ... [Read More...]

EASTERN WASHINGTON: Judge: Slot machines at tribal casinos illegal under Johnson Act

Dec 11th, 1998

SPOKANE (AP) - A federal judge Thursday ruled slot machines at tribal casinos are illegal, clearing the way for the government to seize the gambling devices from two Eastern Washington Indian reservations. The Spokane Tribe plans to appeal U.S. District Judge Fred ... [Read More...]

INDIAN GAMBLING: Court decisions in 1996 may open doors for tribes

Dec 31st, 1995

SPOKANE (AP) The new year could be a pivotal one in the state's evolving relationship with Indian tribes going into the booming business of casino gambling. In Eastern Washington, 1996 could bring federal court resolution of a festering dispute over whether to allow slot ... [Read More...]

ONE-ARMED PROFITS: Tribal slots are being operated without the state's consent

Aug 20th, 1995