A highly-regulated video poker
operation on the tribe's reservation near Rock Hill would be
preferable to the mega-bingo hall the tribe wants near the
crossroads of Interstates 26 and 95 in Or-angeburg County, they
say. That's because it would have to follow the same strict
regulations that were in place when video poker was legal in
South Caro-lina.
The tribe's not planning to be
restricted by limits on payouts, the number of machines and no
advertising, said Catawba attorney Jay Bender: "We're talking
about a full-fledged casino."
The Catawbas filed a federal lawsuit
Wednesday asking a judge to clear the way for video poker on the
reservation and block local officials from trying to enforce
South Carolina laws that prohibit such gambling.
The lawsuit is intended to increase
pressure on lawmakers to approve the Santee proposal. To do so,
however, would require amending the 1993 settlement agreement
between the tribe, state and federal governments. Should the
state Legislature not do so before adjourning June 3, tribe
leaders say they will proceed with their video poker plan as a
way to recoup the millions of dollars they say they've lost
annually since the state got into the gambling business in 2002
with the S.C. Education Lottery.
Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, one of
the state's leading opponents to gambling, said he doesn't
believe the tribe has a legitimate claim to video poker and has
pledged to do all he can to block the Santee proposal "at any
time, anywhere."
"We either give in to their
intimidation or we don't," Hayes said. "I don't intend to, and
that's why I'm going to fight."
Opponents say allowing the Santee
operation with electronic games hooked up to other bingo halls
nationwide would bring widespread advertising,
multimillion-dollar payouts and a worse form of gambling than
existed with South Carolina's $3 billion-a-year video poker
industry. And that's something they're not prepared to agree to.
"We certainly don't want to lose the
fight in York County, but it's preferable to what they want in
Santee," said Kathy Bigham of Rock Hill, who co-chaired Changing
South Carolina, the grassroots group that helped drive video
poker out of the state in 2000. "They thought the words video
poker would scare us into saying go to Santee, but we have to do
what's right for South Carolina."
The electronic games at Santee could
take less than 10 seconds to play. Bigham said those are more
addictive because the jackpots are bigger and the instant
gratification is faster.
"We just see Saluda as a major
setback," she said.
Regulating video poker
Video poker on the reservation is
not an ideal alternative, opponents say, but they feel confident
that if the Catawbas win their federal lawsuit, they'd be bound
by the same regulations in place when video poker was legal in
South Carolina.
Specifically, the tribe would be
restricted to payouts of no more than $125 per person per day,
limited to seven machines per business and would be restricted
from advertising. While opponents say the first two restrictions
would keep many players away, a lack of advertising would
severely limit the tribe's ability to make money. Not only would
fewer people know about the games, but many would have
difficulty finding the reservation in the rural area east of
Rock Hill along the Catawba River.
Bender, the tribe's attorney,
believes no such restrictions will be required because state
legislators adopted the 1993 settlement agreement with the tribe
a month before the restrictive video poker laws took place. The
deal won final approval with S.C. lawmakers on June 3, 1993, but
the new video poker laws did not take place until July 1, 1993.
People should expect as many as
1,000 video poker machines on the reservation should the tribe
win its lawsuit and move forward, Bender said. Although he would
not reveal the location of the tentatively planned site, Bender
said the tribe has added land to the reservation since 1993 and
made it sound possible the video poker "casino" could be in a
surprisingly visible spot.
In the end, though, he said video
poker in York County is not the preferred option.
"That's not what the tribe wants to
do," Bender said. "The tribe only wants to go where it's
wanted."
