Liquor sales at the casino owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina are proving to be self-sufficient as some members question the high salaries being paid to the tribe's Alcoholic Beverage and Control Commission.

The five members of the commission earn a total of $125,000 in annual salaries. Sales at the Harrah's Cherokee Casino pay entirely for administrative and regulatory costs.

“I feel like we are way underpaid for the job that we have done and we’re doing,” commission chair Collette Coggins told The Smoky Mountain News.

The commission paid back $50,000 in startup costs to the tribe and pays another $100,000 a year to the tribe. But some members say the tribe should be getting more out of the deal, considering that gaming per capita payments declined in recent years.

“We were originally promised that our per capita would increase much greater, and that revenue would almost double with the sale of alcohol. None of that has happened,” Jeremy Wilson told the paper.

Revenues at the casino appear to have picked up and the addition of live card dealers is expected to be a big benefit for the tribe.

Get the Story:
Cherokee ABC board claims their generous salary is warranted (The Smoky Mountain News 8/29)

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