In The Hoop: NIGC Bulletin No. 06-X: Tribal Members Are Lazy

September 27, 2006

NIGC Bulletin No. 06-X: Tribal Members Are Lazy

Heads up, prospective employers in Indian Country. Ken Billingsley, a regional chief for the National Indian Gaming Commission, has some advice for you.

Don't hire tribal members! They don't have cars, they spend all their money at once and they'd rather do grand entry than overtime.

Billingsley, you see, knows from experience. As a council member for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, he helped the tribe open its casino.

But there were lots of problems. Just so you won't have to read the whole story from The Gallup Independent, here's a wrapup.

Transportation: "We had seven districts and we chartered Greyhound buses to go pick them up three shifts a day, and that became such a nightmare expense that we did it for four or five months and we finally said enough is enough."

Spending Habits: "So we went back and started doing basic living skills training, because these people who had never worked a day in their life were getting their checks and they'd just go blow them."

Tipping: "We wanted those tips to be thrown in a gaming machine where it's going to make more money for the tribe. Tipping reporting is a nightmare for each individual, or if they pool the tips, they're not happy with that."

It's Not Vegas: "When the glamour, the bright lights, the bells and whistles wear off" people tend not to show up for work.

Grand Entry: "We're big powwowers. If they wanted to go to powwow, they'd just up and leave, wouldn't put in for leave, and then they'd expect to have their job when they came back on Tuesday."

Good stuff from everyone's favorite regulators! We can't wait for the next NIGC Bulletin!