Arbitration may not solve tribes' poker dispute with state
Story-Date: 12:01 a.m. PST Tuesday  , November 18, 1997

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Arbitration may not solve tribes' poker dispute with state


By Matt Kelley
Associated Press Writer


PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's Indian tribes are not backing down from their
contention that they can offer poker in their casinos, despite one tribe's
agreement to arbitration on the issue, tribal representatives said.

Last Friday, the Gila River Indian Community agreed to arbitration on the
poker issue so it could open its new $30 million Wild Horse Pass casino,
which includes 50 poker tables. State regulators had threatened to block
the casino's opening because of their view that poker is illegal.

"Currently we're not negotiating on this issue," said John O'Neill, manager
of the Yavapai-Apache Tribe's Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde. "On the
arbitration, we'll see what the outcome is ... we feel very strongly this
is allowed under the (federal) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act."

The Gila River tribe will be allowed to keep its poker tables until an
arbitrator decides the question, which could take months because the final
details of the process have not been hammered out.

But the decision in Gila River's case will not apply to the other 12
Arizona tribes which offer poker in their casinos, said Francie Noyes,
spokeswoman for Gov. Jane Hull.

"It really does not extend to the other tribes, but obviously if there's
some decision on the ... status of poker it's a step toward resolving the
issue," Noyes said Monday. "Because the other tribes are not involved in
this arbitration we have to be careful."

Gila River tribal Gov. Mary Thomas said in a statement Friday that she
wanted to have other tribes involved in the arbitration. Thomas was
attending a National Congress of American Indians meeting in New Mexico
Monday and could not be reached for comment.

Arizona Gaming Department Director Gary Husk set off the dispute this
summer, when he told the state's Indian casinos to stop offering poker.
Husk cited an opinion from state Attorney General Grant Woods saying that
poker is illegal in Arizona, although Woods later said his opinion was not
a direct comment on tribal casinos.

Tribal officials say the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows them
to offer poker without state approval. Some Arizona tribal casinos have
offered poker since 1992.

"It's very hard to make a snap decision when you have a reality that
allowed tribes to do this for five years," Noyes said. "Everyone assumed it
was legal, so it's awfully hard to come back later and say, "Oops, what do
we do now?"'



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