"One of the most unsettling things for me during this last election was a conversation with a local legislator who suggested Washington state should pressure tribes to share more of their gaming revenue.

Pressure, actually, is a mild, polite word. The discussion was more about ways the state could force, or even extort, tribes into coughing up extra cash. Then the word "share" isn't accurate either. It would be a lot more honest to admit that greed is a powerful motivator. The Indians have done well financially -- and you know what that means (an interesting contrast from when tribes were perceived to be poor, always demanding more from government from taxpayers).

I was thinking about this exchange while attending the Global Gaming Expo last week, a gambling industry trade show. Tribal gaming has become so huge -- generating more than $22 billion in revenues -- that it is now seen as an essential part of an industry that once challenged its existence.

Most Americans -- three-quarters of those surveyed in a recent poll -- say that on balance tribal gaming has been a good development. Then a lot of folks have reached this conclusion from experience, some 22 million people have "first-hand" observations about tribal gaming facilities, says Ernie Stevens Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association.

"We didn't wake up one day and this was a $22 billion industry," he said. There was "no explosion, no accident," but the industry grew because Indian Country worked hard and built the business."

Get the Story:
Tribes' gaming success breeds greed (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 11/19

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