States use tribes to make money, students told

Wednesday, July 25, 2007  

States are using tribal casinos as a "moneymaker," students at Tulane University in Mississippi were told.

Lloyd "Eddie" Gibson, the chairman of the Choctaw Gaming Commission, and Patrick Sheehan, an attorney who specializes in Indian gaming law, spoke to students in casino management. They said the $25.5 billion tribal casino industry benefits tribes and state and local governments.

"They probably employ more people than all the rest of the casinos put together," Sheehan said of tribal casinos, The Biloxi Sun Herald reported.

Gibson said the Choctaws borrowed $35 million from Boyd Gaming to open their first casino. "[W]e paid it back in seven months," he told the students.

The tribe has opened a second casino on its reservation and has proposed an off-reservation casino in Jackson County.

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Students hear Choctaw gaming chair (The Biloxi Sun Herald 7/25)
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