The Mescalero Apache Nation will pay $25 million in in back payments to the state of New Mexico to settle a lawsuit over revenue-sharing.
The tribe objected to an 16 percent sharing rate found in a compact that tribal leaders say was forced on them. The tribe held out as 11 others signed new compacts with a sharing rate capped at 8 percent of slot machine proceeds. New Mescalero chairman Mark Chino signed the settlement with attorney general Patricia Madrid. The tribe will sign the new compact. The move leaves Pojoaque Pueblo in northern New Mexico as the only holdout. All the other tribes agreed to make the back payments previously withheld. Get the Story: