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Indian Casino Revenues Now Surpass Nevada
Indian gambling pulled in $18.5 billion in
2004, nearly double the take for Nevada's gambling industry.
The 10 percent increase extended more than a decade of double-digit
growth for the nation's Indian casinos, which have mushroomed since
Congress passed a law creating the legal framework in 1988.
There now are 411 Indian casinos in the United States, operated by
223 tribes in 28 states. More than half the 341 federally recognized
Indian tribes in the continental United States operate casinos.
Because tribes are sovereign nations, they don't have to pay state or
local taxes and are exempt from most zoning and other laws, a special
status that can cause conflict with neighbors. Tribal casinos have
encountered opposition from some local communities that don't want the
traffic or strain on resources.
To head off opposition, tribal leaders have grown more aggressive
about asserting benefits.
National Indian Gaming Association officials said Tuesday that tribal
gambling has directly or indirectly created 553,000 jobs, mostly for
non-Indians, and that it generated $5.5 billion in federal taxes in
2004.
Tribal leaders say gambling has allowed them to lift their
reservations out of poverty.
"We had to overcome insurmountable odds to turn our economy
around. We looked to casino gaming as a way to
do that," said Dee Pigsley, chairwoman of the Confederated Tribes of
Siletz, which has a casino in Oregon. "No other development could return
the kind of profits that a casino could offer."
Read the
entire article at: The Daily Review
2004 Online Casino News Archive
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