Washington governor rakes in tribal donations

Friday, June 13, 2008  

Tribes in Washington have donated more than $650,000 to Democrats since Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) killed a gaming compact they opposed, The Seattle Times reports.

Tribes have donated $49,000 directly to Gregoire since 2004. An additional $604,131 to the state Democratic party was transferred to Gregoire's campaign, the paper said.

The flow of funds came after Gregoire killed a gaming compact that most tribes in the state opposed. They didn't like revenue-sharing provisions agreed to by the Spokane Tribe in exchange for more than 7,000 video gaming machines.

Gregoire renegotiated the compact, removed the revenue-sharing provisions and limited the tribe to 4,700 machines. She said doing so prevented other tribes from trying to install more gaming devices.

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Tribes give big to Gregoire, avoid sharing casino cash (The Seattle Times 6/13)