"The federal Court of Appeals has declared that, at least for labor law, tribal casinos are to be treated exactly the same as casinos that are owned by private citizens. In other words, a tribal casino is not a part of a government, but merely just another privately owned business.

At a minimum, this means that federal labor law applies to all employees at Indian casinos. This includes the laws surrounding the right to unionize, the major issue of dispute in the fight over new compacts in California.

At the maximum, the case could result in the virtual end of tribal sovereignty. Courts would never openly declare that tribes are not sovereign governments. Instead, using this decision, they could find that almost every federal and state statute and regulation applies to Indian casinos and to any other tribal business that is not limited to members of that tribe.

The case began with a dispute between two unions anxious to capture the workers at the San Manuel's Indian Bingo and Casino, the closest tribal gaming to Los Angeles. The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union was denied access to the casino for organizing while its rival, the Communications Workers of America, was not. The federal government naturally ruled this was unfair.

But the major question was whether the tribe's casino is even subject to the nation's labor laws. In a long, detailed decision, the Court ruled that it is "

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I. Nelson Rose: Court Rules Tribal Casino Is Merely a Casino (Poker Player 10/1)