"For many years, Wyoming fought tooth and nail against tribal efforts to establish casino-style gambling on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

But in 2011, with Indian gambling here to stay in Wyoming and bringing much-needed revenue and jobs to the reservation, it’s difficult to remember what the fuss was all about. Still, the cost of the fight to the state is worth recalling.

At various times Wyoming officials offered different reasons for the state’s vigorous opposition. Apart from personal moral objections, none of the public policy issues they cited ring true today.

Then-Gov. Jim Geringer, a longtime opponent of all forms of gambling, firmly established the state’s anti-Indian casino position in the early 1990s.

Geringer and other state officials often cited the overwhelming defeat of a 1994 initiative that would have allowed counties to decide individually if they wanted to allow casino gambling. If that was the attitude of a solid majority of voters throughout Wyoming, it gave officials a high-profile excuse to try to keep casinos off the reservation."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Indian gaming increased tribes' jobs, revenue (The Casper Star-Tribune 6/3)

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