Washington Democrats defend Spokane compact

Friday, August 1, 2008  

A Washington legislative hearing on a minor change to the Spokane Tribe's Class III gaming compact turned into a defense of the agreement on Thursday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) signed the compact in 2005 to allow the tribe to operate up to 4,700 gaming machines. Supporters said the deal resolved questions about the legality of the tribe's operation while limiting expansion of gaming in the state.

But Republicans are upset that Gregoire killed a deal that would have required the tribe to share gaming revenues. That agreement would have authorized more than 7,000 machines.

Other tribes opposed the revenue sharing provision and have since donated more than $650,000 to state Democrats since Gregoire rejected the first deal. Republicans have called for an investigation but Democrats continue to oppose the idea.

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Democrats defend tribal compacts (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 8/1)