I 8A Sunday, October 18, 1998 THE MONITOR, McAllen, Texas Bingo Continued from page one I filial (IT i was enacted In 1 8 and is i i I "It's going to enhance ths entsrtsinsr.sr.t in the area. From cut stsndpcht at EXEC, it will ccrJnirs to creating a city cf activity. Csslgesses feed eff each ether." Robert Pena, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation idlan Gu. promote, ce of organL. gaming revsn fatory Act nomic '9, ensure 5d development; tribes from I.
that tribes ar ihe primary beref; establishes a regulc. ry botfy. tj r.20: AH lands within an Indian reservation Any r1s title to which i either held in trust by ths Jnltdd STi li. 'for1, nefit bf any ii i Jian tribe or individual or held by any lr. "I am officially disappointed with tha city cf Etiinbuig in having any support cf having it in ths jurisdiction cf We don't need a gambling establishment in, the Valley.
If we had Indian land and had an Indian plot that are native to South Texas, I wouldn't have a problem with ft. This is an artificially created Indian land." subject to ft. if r'isn by ffie United States againsi 'ienatiqn and an Indian Trice rsis.y governmental power. Town, a federally recognized Indian tribe, allowing a gambling facility the Kialagee promised will create about 800 jobs for the area. The Kialagee said they will pay the city $3 million a year for access to existing utilities such as water and electricity, and city services, including police and fire protection.
The agreement is renewable for up to three terms. The city is to be paid monthly. The facility, mandated by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which establishes the framework for regulation, is classified as Class II and can provide bingo and related games, such as pull labs, lotto, punch boards, instant bingo and some card games. It is not permitted to have slot machines, blackjack tables or other house banking games such as roulette or baccarat. If the Indian tribe purchases the land, it will be the first tribe to purchase land and make it an Indian reservation and a Class II facility in Texas, and the third Indian gaming hall in the state.
In Eagle Pass, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas operates the' Luck Eagle Casino, and in El Pasothc Tigua Indian Tribe operates the Speaking Rock Casino. Bolh-arc multimillion-dollar opcr-. ations, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said he is opposed to bringing the Indian gaming hall to the area because it -moves the county into unfamiliar territory. II the gaming' hall only offered bingo games, he said, he would not have a problem with it, but that is not the case. "I am officially disappointed with the city of Edinburg in having any support of having it in the jurisdiction of Edinburg.
We don't need a gambling establishment in the Valley," he said. In response. City Manager John Milford- contends that, before taxes on the gaming hall, because it would be a federally governed operation. A city resolution document that authorizes Milford to enter into the agreement says that, by federal statute, the property would become sovereign territory of Indian tribe and would not be taxable by the city nor is subject to city or state laws. In the early 1980s, gaming operations owned by Indian tribal governments came about as a way for tribes to raise money.
When state governments threatened to close them down, the federal courts ruled that tribes can own and operate gaming facilities. Then, in 1988, Congress passed legislation that created the National Indian Gaming Commission to formally recognize but limit the rights of Indians to operate facilities. The commission, comprised of three appointed individuals, oversees and regulates tribal gaming operations for the federal government. The chairperson can order temporary closures of gaming activities due to substantial violations ol the provisions. In Edinburg's agreement, fire and police pfnptWyees would patrol the reservaWii 24 hours a day as part of the deaiVS.
The tribe would pay $3 million a year -for city services. Milford said it is too early to discuss plans for the money the tribe pays the city, but did say it will help defray the costs of lire and police scr- vices. "We want to' be prepared if it happens," Milford said. "If it does happen, we-'JI make sure police and fire department officials are on site." but he has "a good feel for it. "It would be great if it happens, as far as the revenues to the city," he said.
Local bingo hall operators are not as keen on the idea. They do not want to compete with the Indian facility, and say it will hurt their own state-funded organizations. Lisa Kalam, manager at Bingo Gardens Inc. in McAllen, said it would be difficult for all three bingo halls in McAllen and other bingo halls in the Valley to stay in business with the Indian facility nearby. 4 "It would wipe us out," she said.
"I don't think we could compete with something like that." Bingo game attendance last year in Hidalgo County topped 1.3 million and has, reached 703,000 through June 1998. Attendance in Cameron County last year totaled 778,000 and passed the 313,000 mark through June 1998, said state Rep Juan J. Hinojosa (D-Ediiburg). Through June, bingo in Hidalgo County has generated $8.3 million in gross receipts and awarded $5.5 million in prizes. Cameron County generated $2.2 million "and paid out $822,000, he said.
At Bingo Gardens, players seldom win the maximum $5,000 in 10 matches, and proceeds earned at the non-profit organization go directly to local charities and to pay state taxes. At the Indian Gaming Hall, players could win up to $2,500 a day, three days a week, plus other high-end prizes. All proceeds go to the tribe to fund tribal government programs, just as state revenue funds state programs. The Kialagee would pay no -j. i t.
tos, like c' ar not taxed rented including pc" Lts, games, ir ctrontdga" sychas. V. Indian land." But Nave said he believes the Indians will get along well with the Valley's predominantly Hispanic population. "Latinos and Indians are all Indians," said Nave, himself a North American Indian. "We are all brown people and we like them, admire them and we certainly get along with them." Edinburg officials said the gaming hall would generate millions of tourism dollars and create more employment opportunities.
Nave said 20-25 tribe members will be employed at the gaming hall, and local residents will Till in the remaining positions. Robert Pena, executive director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, said the gaming hall would add to the city's quality of life things-td-do list, along with the SuperSplash water, park and planned entertainment venueslike the 20-screen movie theater and the upcoming golf course. "It's going to enhance the entertainment in the area," Pena said. "From our standpoint at EEDC, it will continue to help creating a city of activity. Businesses will teed off each other." Milford'said he has no concrete details on the gaming operations, Rene Guerra, Hidalgo County district attorney "I invite the DA to investigate if there's something outside thefed-eral statute." Kialagee members were unavailable for comment, said Art Nave, chief executive of the Oklahoma-based South Valley Management which" represents' the Kialagee, because two other unidentified tribes are being considered if the Kialagee choose not to purchase the land.
"We've had conversations with Kialagee and other tribes of equal status," he said. A "Kialagee has indicated an interest with me, stating that they would like to come to the Rio Grande Valley." Developers from Dallas-based The New Orchard, LLC, which owns the Edinburg property, said Thursday they still are negotiating a land deal with the Kialagee and hope to close it soon. "I think they will proceed, but the final decision is in their hands," developer Amir Virani said. Before looking at Edinburg; the Kialagee made unsuccessful iMm A. facilities cr lotto, banking card slot ma' ifs ae prohibiteJ i end attempts to land their laming facility in Harlingen and San Benito.
Harlingen City Manager Natalie Primsaid an agreement to locate the gaming halL at the old greyhound -racetrack fell through with the Kialagee in 1996, after many questions went unanswered. "You get into many complex issues when you get into an Indian gaming hall involving federal gaming state laws and applicability to the city Prim 'said, "We were just unable to get the answers we needed." A Nave had a different perspective on the failed deal." "We just did not feel welcome in Harlingen, so we withdrew he said. In 1997, Nave claims, the tribe parted on friendly terms with the city of San Benito, after backing out of a deal to locate the Indian facility at 'the old airport, citing changes in city-elected officials. The question now is-how will the Indian gaming facility fit into the Edinburg community, in prox-' imity with the University of Texas-Pan American and the Hidalgo County Courthouse? "If we had Indian land and had an Indian plot that are native to South Texas, I wouldn't have a problem with it," Guerra said. "This is an artificially created 782-9200 705 N.
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