Compacts | Opinion

Editorial: Pojoaque Pueblo gets pass on illegal gaming operation

Thursday, July 2, 2015

A view of the Buffalo Thunder Resort at Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico. Photo from Facebook

New Mexico newspaper questions U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez for allowing Pojoaque Pueblo to continue operating its gaming facilities without a Class III compact:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office this week took a pass on doing anything meaningful in the enforcement of state and federal gambling laws.
U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez decided the bright lights of Pojoaque Pueblo’s gaming enterprise can stay lit and its casino doors can remain open without a federally and state required compact while its legal battle with New Mexico plays out in 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
So Pojoaque’s slots will keep ringing and the take will keep rolling in for the northern New Mexico tribe that is suing to get out from under paying any revenue-sharing money to the state.
Pojoaque’s gambling interests include Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino and Cities of Gold Casino north of Santa Fe, and slot machines in a hotel, sports bar and gas stations on the pueblo.
Under federal law, Indian tribes must have a gambling compact with the state to operate, and as of midnight Tuesday, the pueblo didn’t. Pojoaque’s compact expired along with those of four other tribes. But the other tribes negotiated new compacts with the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez that subsequently were approved by the Legislature. The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved those compacts.

Get the Story:
Editorial: Pojoaque gets a pass from the feds on illegal gambling (The Albuquerque Journal 7/2)