A gaming company unduly influenced the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma by purchasing votes, paying for trips and providing the salary a key tribal regulator, the National Indian Gaming Commission said

In a reversal of a prior decision, NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen said Southwest Corporation violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The company tried to ensure the tribe extended a management contract by pouring money into the community.

"Southwest took tribal elders on a trip to Cripple Creek, Colorado, and Taos, New Mexico, to gamble and attend tribal ceremonies. The trip cost the elders nothing. Southwest paid for transportation, meals, and accommodations; gave each elder casino coupons, $100 in cash, and a coffee cup imprinted with 'C&A Tribes on a visit to Cripple Creek;' and asked for their votes," a May 20 memorandum stated.

Hogen's reversal was welcomed by Gov. Darrell Flyingman. He said the decision vindicates his complaints about Southwest's actions.

"It is now absolutely clear that Southwest Corporation improperly gave money to tribal members and officials in violation of federal gaming law," Flyingman said in a press release. "The federal government should now examine the conduct of Southwest Corporation officials who gave out money improperly."

But Hogen said Flyingman's complain was rendered "moot" because Southwest Corporation's management contract had already expired by the time the NIGC got around to investigating the issue in 2007. The agency competed an audit of tribal gaming revenues in June 2008 and voided the contract in May 2007.

Get the Story:
Press Release: US GOVERNMENT SAYS SOUTHWEST CASINO CORPORATION PURCHASED VOTES AND PAID THE TRIBAL GAMING COMMISSION IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW (Gov. Darrell Flyingman 5/26)