Creating Strong Economies. Empowering Indian Communities.

ONLINE GAMING: Tribal leaders warily watch legislation
Steve Yeater/The Press-Enterprise
Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, testifies at a hearing on online gaming in 2010.

BY JIM MILLER

SACRAMENTO BUREAU

SACRAMENTO — Tribes with casinos should have a central role in any legislation that would legalize Internet gaming, American Indian leaders said Tuesday during a national tribal conference.

Legislation to legalize online gaming has languished in Congress but could move during a lame-duck session later this year. In Sacramento, meanwhile, online gaming bills have stalled the last few years amid a deep split among tribes with casinos, but legislation likely will resurface in 2013.

“The ground is shifting under the gaming world’s feet,” Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians near Temecula, told a crowd during Tuesday’s panel discussion at the National Conference of American Indians gathering a few blocks from the state Capitol.

“We think it’s absolutely critical we get it right the first time,” Macarro said. “Tribes need to be prepared to address the impacts of Internet gaming.”

The federal government bans online gambling. But the law allows states to legalize intrastate games.

The Pechanga band is among several Inland Southern California tribes with successful casinos that generate millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs.

Online gaming, though, has divided the region’s tribes.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino are part of a consortium that supports the licensing of online poker. Proponents say it’s vital for tribes to diversify beyond bricks-and-mortar casinos.

But the Pechanga tribe and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have opposed the group’s proposal, as well as other legislation to legalize online poker. Critics say the measures could favor one group of tribes over others, while potentially cannibalizing tribes’ casino business.

Large Las Vegas-based casinos and poker sites have led the support for federal legislation to allow online gamblers to win money playing Texas Hold’em and other Internet-based versions of the popular card game.

Tribal gaming associations have been most skeptical of a federal bill that could siphon away their customers.

Any regulatory scheme must include a significant role for tribes, such as the involvement of the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal leaders said Tuesday. A pending federal measure backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid fails to do that, said Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.

“Yes, internet gaming is coming. But we also want it to be fair,” Giles said.

In a recent interview with Indian Country Today, Reid said he supported tribes having a role in Internet poker.

Internet gambling: Next sure thing?
Gamers are already creating online games that mimic casinos; foes see regulatory quagmire

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Monday October 8, 2012 5:51 AM

LAS VEGAS — Internet gambling, the next frontier for casinos, occupied center stage last week at Las Vegas’ Global Gaming Expo, known as G2E.

What form I-gambling will take and how it will be regulated are anyone’s guess, but the industry already is creating interactive products that will allow anyone who frequents a casino to enjoy favorite slot machines or table games online, in virtual versions that look identical to those on the casino floor.

The idea, said Mike Trask, spokesman for game-manufacturer Bally Technologies Inc., is “for the customer to have the same experience whether online, in the casino, or waiting in line at the grocery store, while playing games on an iPhone, iPad, Android and other tablets — anything with an Internet connection.”

A proposal in Congress calls for legalizing online poker nationwide. Meanwhile, states are looking for ways to do it themselves, said Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association.

This year, Nevada became the first state to legalize and implement regulations for online poker. This past summer, Delaware authorized a wider array of online casino-style games, and California and New Jersey are weighing legislation.

“The entire gaming industry is anxious to see more clarity on the legality of online gambling,” Fahrenkopf said at a news conference last week on the $36 billion-a-year U.S. casino industry overall. “The AGA supports states having the right to license and regulate online poker, but not without federal minimum standards that address consumer protection, prevent underage gambling, promote responsible gaming and provide help for those with gambling problems.”

Such concerns have stymied passage of a federal bill for years, said Les Bernal, who heads the national group Stop Predatory Gambling.

“The reason Internet gambling will inevitably fail to pass Congress is simple: The American people don’t want it. Citizens don’t support government promoting gambling at the state level, either, because it has led to higher taxes, more personal debt, worsened state budget deficits, and turned millions of citizens into gambling addicts.”

Fahrenkopf said his organization continues to push Congress for a clear regulatory framework for Internet poker.

“Without action, we will see states legalize online gambling one by one, leading to a patchwork quilt of rules. That will make oversight difficult and put customers at risk,” he said. “What I can say is that no matter what Congress does, it’s not a matter of if online gambling will be legalized in the U.S., but when, where and how.”

In June, Bally became the first licensed provider of Internet gambling products in Nevada.

“We’re still in the mode where we’re waiting and watching,” Trask, the company’s spokesman, said as he showed off a giant LED screen featuring the GoldenNuggetpoker.com website using its I-gaming technology.

“We’re offering I-gaming technology to casinos as a play-for-fun poker run. The idea being that the platform is able to accommodate play-for-real-money poker, if and when it becomes legal.”

Las Vegas-based South Point Poker got an online-poker license from the Nevada Gaming Control Board in August.

“If fortunate, we will be able to market and be able to be the first nationally to offer poker online,” Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Vaughan said. “Over time, as federal bills and state compacts are formed, there is an opportunity to expand. It will get there, but there is a lot of politics to get there.”

Two Measures Would Change Gambling In Oregon

OPB | Oct. 08, 2012 6:11 a.m. | Bend, Oregon

Contributed By:

David Nogueras

In Oregon, a trip to the casino often means a journey to one of Oregon’s nine tribal nations. Now, a group of developers hopes to break that monopoly. They envision a new multi-use casino and entertainment center, with water slides and a movie theater, all just a stone’s throw from downtown Portland. But voters would have to change the state’s Constitution to allow a non-tribal casino.

If this whole thing sounds a bit familiar, there’s a reason for that. Two years ago, these same developers gathered signatures for two nearly identical ballot measures that would have cleared the way for a project at the same site. But only one of those measures made the ballot. And when Casino backers rolled the dice anyway, those efforts came up a bust.

This time, the developers are hoping for different result. Both measures actually made the ballot, as well as a required local measure in the city of Wood Village. But all three of those votes would need to line up the same way for the project to move forward.

Michael Clapp / OPB

So let’s look the measures themselves. First, the general one.

Ballot Measure 82 amends the constitution to allow non-tribal casinos. It also requires those casinos to give a percentage of their revenue to the state lottery.

Ballot Measure 83 is the more specific measure. It authorizes the casino in Multnomah County and requires it to contribute a 25 percent of its gaming revenue to the state lottery.

Backers say the casino, which developers would call the Grange, could increase funding for Oregon schools by up a $100 million a year.

And for months now, backers have been touting project’s potential economic benefits in ads on local television.

This one features Tony Rice, an out-of-work bricklayer from Newberg.

In the commercial, he says “I’ve been looking for full-time work for over a year. If the Grange gets built here, it will bring a lot of good jobs. I’m guessing that the people that feel we don’t need to build the Grange already have good jobs.” Fades under.

Stacey Dycus is campaign manager for Yes on 82 and 83.

She says, “It would create 3000 construction jobs over a 2 year period and 2,000 permanent jobs to run the Grange.”

But Cynara Lilly says those jobs wouldn’t be created out of thin air.

She is a spokeswoman for “Still A Bad Idea”, the political action committee opposing the measures. She says most of the committee’s support comes from Oregon’s tribes which she says stand to lose visitors to conveniently located Portland-area casino.

Lilly says, “These aren’t new jobs. These are just trading jobs so the jobs that are lost at the tribal casinos might be made up for at the Wood Village casino but this isn’t a net positive for Oregon this is just moving jobs around.”

Lilly says tribes use casino revenue to fund social programs on the reservations and provide relief to areas of the the state that have been hit hard economically. She also says that since the largest investor in the project, The Clairvest Group is based in Canada, much of the profit generated would leave the region.

Casino backer, Stacey Dycus counters that not one of the state’s nine casinos pay any taxes to the state, even as the Oregon schools have endured deep cuts to funding.

Last week, Gov. John Kitzhaber entered the fray lending his support to efforts to defeat the measures. The Governor appears in a new television ad urging voters to reject both measures.

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona
NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2012 www.aiccaz.org

SPEAKER: Valerie Spicer, Executive Director, Arizona Indian Gaming Association

TOPIC: How Gaming Has Given American Indian Business Owners New Opportunities and How the Gaming Industry Has Affected the Arizona Economy

Valerie Spicer brings 26 years of gaming experience to the Arizona Indian Gaming Association (AIGA) having worked extensively in the tribal, private and public sectors of this growing industry. Most recently, Spicer served as Deputy Director, AIGA, having been selected in a national search from a field of 80 candidates before appointed as the executive director.

Before joining AIGA, Spicer was CEO of Gaming Strategies Group where she promoted business development with Tribal enterprises, governments and consulted to tribal and individually-owned businesses. She has consulted to the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, Casino Omaha, Global Gaming Group, Arizona Indian Gaming Association and Dick Clark Signature Entertainment. She was also Vice President and General Manager Borrego Springs Bank and provided marketing and public relations services to Viejas Enterprises.

Valerie Spicer was named as a Great Woman of Gaming; Proven Leader 2011 by Casino Enterprise Management magazine. In 2004, Spicer was named one of the “Top 25 People To Watch” by Global Gaming Magazine. Spicer co-chaired the landmark, ten-year Harvard/National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) National Census Data Impact Study and was founder and co-chair of the American Indian Business Network. She also served as Founding Chair for NIGA Spirit of Sovereignty Scholarship Foundation.

Her corporate experience includes serving Vice President National Relations for Travelers Express, Vice President Indian Gaming Services for Ceridian/Comdata Corporation, and Director Business Development for Service Data Corporation. As Director, Business Development for Integrated Payment Systems for American Express, she received the Chairman of the Board Award for designing and developing a card acceptance feature to worldwide MoneyGram money transfers. Spicer is proud of her Mescalero Apache and Hispanic heritage. She holds an Associate of Arts Degree, Business Management from Anthem College. She serves as a Board Member to Tribal Financial Advisors.

If you need information about the chamber, please call 480-545-1412 or go to the chamber website at www.aiccaz.org.

LUNCHEON DATE:
Friday, October 19th, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

LUNCHEON LOCATION:
Casino Arizona Eagles Buffet Banquet Room

LUNCHEON PRICES:

Chamber Members: $20

Buy Now

Non-Chamber Members: $30

Buy Now

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The American Indian Chamber of Commerce will host a Chamber Mixer on November 14th during the Arizona Indian Gaming Association Conference at Wild Horse Pass Hotel

AIGA Conf Logo
Click Image for Conference info
Arizona Indian Gaming Association
Conference & Trade Show
November 14-15, 2012
Wild Horse Pass Hotel

AICC Multi-Chamber Mixer
Wednesday, Nov. 14th: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
AIGA Trade Show Floor
Watch for E-blast Announcement

The American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona

and the Arizona Indian Gaming Association has teamed up to host a Chamber Mixer on Wednesday evening, November 14th beginning at 5:00 PM and ending at 7:00 PM, during the Arizona Indian Gaming Conference being held November 13-15, 2012 at the Wild Horse Pass Hotel, Chandler, Az. The Mixer will take place in the trade show floor at the gaming conference. Attendees to the Mixer will given full access to the trade show floor to visit exhibitor’s tables and to network with gaming representatives.

ONLY ADVANCED REGISTRATION WILL BE ACCEPTED. Deadline for registration for the Mixer will be Tuesday, 5:00 PM November 12th.

NO ONSITE REGISTRATION due to the anticipated sell-out crowd for the gaming conference. The registration is $20 for American Indian Chamber members and $30 for non-Chamber members.

Chamber Member MIXER Registration – $20

Buy Now

Non-Chamber Member MIXER Registration – $30

Buy Now

ARIZONA INDIAN GAMING CONFERENCE:

The three-day gaming conference and trade show opens with the Desert Classic Golf Tournament on November 13, 2012. It will be played at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, Maricopa, Arizona. The evening of November 13, guests will gather at Wild Horse Hotel & Casino to enjoy the popular Arizona Chef’s Challenge. This year, in addition to cuisine by local casino chefs, Arizona Vineyard wines and breweries will be featured.

This unique conference will serve two distinct audiences: those already in the gaming industry and others who want to do business with Arizona gaming tribes. According to Valerie Spicer, Executive Director of the association, “We are extremely excited to present this new format that will address both the gaming and business side of our industry. By emphasizing diversification, we can support our Tribal economies and reach out to Native and non-Indian business owners who want to work with our Tribes. Attendees will gain introductions and information they need to enter and succeed in this market, along with insider knowledge about trends and opportunities in our industry.”

Individuals are invited to register for the conference to learn more about how Arizona gaming tribes are an integral part of Arizona’s growing economy.

To learn more about the gaming conference or to register, please go to the Arizona Indian Gaming Association’s website at:

http://www.azindiangaming.org/conference.html

More information can be found by calling the AIGA office at 602-307-1570.

Meet our Newest Non-profit
Chamber Members

Walnut Canyon Press
www.walnutcanyonpress.org

Walnut Canyon Press hopes to give the gift of literacy through the pride of book ownership, thereby inspire the spirit of curiosity, promote the excitement of learning, and support the power of a child’s mind.

We support the education of our children, in particular the under served and under represented and create bonds based on respect, reaching all social and economic demographics.

Our programs promote literacy, diversity, multicultural understanding, leadership and youth service.

Walnut Canyon Press was also created to raise funds to enable gifting “Arizona: Nations and Art,” a book written by Annica Benning at age 14 to all 4th Graders in Arizona.

Gifting the book has made a profound impact on tribal children, their sense of self-respect and appreciation of their culture. Teachers write that their tribal students speak with new pride about their cultures and the ways of their elders for the first time in the classrooms. Elders are grateful to Annica Benning for educating both Native and non-Native children with such respect. The book is dedicated to the forgotten Hopi Code Talkers and the preservation of Native American arts, cultures, nations, and heritage throughout the State of Arizona.

Arizona Indian Gaming Association

www.azindiangaming.org

The Arizona Indian Gaming Association (“AIGA”), a 501 (c) 6 non-profit organization, has a membership of 17 tribes representing 90% of the Indian people living on reservations in Arizona.

AIGA was established on Nov. 21, 1994, by Arizona tribal leaders. The Association is committed to advancing the lives of Indian peoples – economically, socially, and politically – so Indian tribes in Arizona can achieve their goal of self-reliance.

The Association is committed to protecting and promoting the general welfare of tribes striving for self-reliance by supporting tribal gaming enterprises on Arizona Indian lands. Speaking on behalf of its member tribes with one, unified voice, AIGA serves as a clearinghouse and educational, legislative and public policy resource for tribes, policymakers and the public on Indian gaming issues and tribal community development. This organization is deeply committed to maintaining and protecting Indian sovereign governmental authority.

Current membership of AIGA includes: Ak-Chin Indian Community, Cocopah Tribe, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fort Mojave Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Havasupai Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab-Paiute Tribe, the Navajo Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Quechan Tribe, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Zuni Tribe.

City of Chandler Diversity Office

www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=23

The City’s Diversity Office works closely with the Chandler Human Relations Commission to develop diversity programs and events. It’s mission statement is to promote mutual respect and inclusion in Chandler. the office works toward the elimination of prejudice and discrimination among all citizens within the Chandler community. The office also celebrates the mix of ages and genders, persons with disabilities and diversity of race, cultural, religious, socio-economic, sexual orientation or other personal identifying markers.

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CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

Individual Member: $100
Name and Business Listed on Chamber Website

Buy Now

Non-Profit Organization Member: $250
Name and Business Listed on Chamber Website
with Description and Link to Your Website

Buy Now

Business Member: $500
Name and Business Listed on Chamber Website
with Description and Link to Your Business

Buy Now

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CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SPONSORSHIPS
and PARTNERSHIPS:

Mr. Loren Tapahe, President/CEO
American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona
953 East Juanita, Suite C-4
Mesa, Arizona 85203
Loren.Tapahe@aiccaz.org

480-545-1412
www.aiccaz.org

Become one of our valued Partners! The Chamber is planning more exciting events in 2013.

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2012 Nard list

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Mohegan Sun announces more than 300 layoffs, replacement of CEO

By Brian Hallenbeck

Publication: theday.com
Published 09/27/2012 12:00 AM
Updated 09/27/2012 11:45 PM
Dana Jensen/The Day
Jeffrey Hartmann, chief executive officer of Mohegan Sun, walks through one of the gaming areas in February 2011. The casino announced Hartmann’s departure Thursday, along with the layoffs of more than 300 casino employees.

Mohegan — Wracked by a revenue decline that shows no sign of abating, Mohegan Sun is laying off more than 300 employees and replacing its chief executive officer.

Jeffrey Hartmann, a Mohegan Sun executive since 1996 and the casino’s president and CEO since 2011, left his job Wednesday, Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said Thursday night.

“Jeff’s no longer with the company,” Etess said, declining to elaborate.

Bobby Soper, CEO of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, the authority’s racetrack casino in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., will replace Hartmann, Etess said. Soper is a member of the Mohegan Tribe, as is Mohegan Sun’s No. 2 man, Ray Pineault, the chief operating officer.

Attempts to reach Hartmann were unsuccessful.

Etess said 282 employees were being laid off immediately and that another 46 would be let go at the end of October when the casino closes Birches, a tribe-owned restaurant that will reopen under new ownership.

The casino also will shut down its keno operation, Etess said.

The layoffs — the casino’s second round in two years — will impact virtually every department and include workers at all levels, from vice president on down, he said. Managers began informing employees around 6 p.m. Thursday and hope to conclude the process within the next two days, Etess said.

“You have to put this in the context of the amazing decline in business we’ve experienced,” Etess said. “The last thing we ever want to do is lay people off, but we had to do this to make the size of our workforce appropriate to our business volumes.”

After the layoffs, Mohegan Sun’s workforce, also reduced in recent years by attrition, will number about 6,400, Etess said. Prior to the recession, the casino employed more than 10,000.

Slots revenue, generally considered a reliable indicator of a casino’s overall financial health, has been declining for the last five years at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, its nearby competitor.

Foxwoods has no plan to lay off employees, Scott Butera, Foxwoods’ president and CEO, said Thursday night in the wake of the Mohegan Sun news.

In recent months, casino executives have attributed shrinking revenues to the economy’s weak recovery and to increasing competition from Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct racetrack in New York City, which debuted last October, and to a lesser extent Revel, a $2.4 billion casino that opened in April in Atlantic City, N.J.

Last month, Resorts World, which operates slots-like video display terminals and electronic table games, generated a $58.6 million slots “win” — the amount of wagers the casino keeps after paying out prizes. Mohegan Sun’s take for the month was $56.3 million. Resorts World’s “handle” — the total amount of wagers — totaled more than $1.1 billion, far outstripping Mohegan Sun’s $687.2 million.

“Clearly, the competition from Resorts World has taken business away from us, but it’s also had an impact on the whole region,” Etess said. “It’s prompted Atlantic City and Yonkers (N.Y.) to get more aggressive. It’s had a tremendous effect on the dynamic in the marketplace.”

For the first eight months of 2012, Mohegan Sun’s slots win was down 6.7 percent over the same period in 2011. Comparing August 2012 to August 2007, the decline is a staggering 32.6 percent.

Earlier, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, the entity that operates the casino, reported that its net income, or profit, for the third quarter of its 2012 fiscal year — April, May and June — was down 4.7 percent over the same quarter the previous year.

But Etess said the economy, both nationally and in Connecticut, may be an ever bigger factor than competition from other gaming facilities.

“The unemployment rate, the price of gas, the overall economic conditions …” he said. “Connecticut is a huge part of our market. We’re seeing declines among our customers in certain counties. It’s not that they’re going to other casinos — someone could be still be coming to Mohegan Sun and spending less.”

About 53 percent of Mohegan Sun’s customers are Connecticut residents, Etess said.

In the earlier round of mass layoffs, in September 2010, Mohegan Sun announced it was eliminating 475 positions, the majority of them in the casino’s food and beverage department. At the time, the casino said about 120 workers whose positions were eliminated would be able to transition into other jobs at Mohegan Sun.

At the same time, the casino announced it would close one of its two buffet restaurants, the snack bar in its race book and two casino-owned outlets in its food court that later reopened under third-party operators.

Later that year, Etess, who was then CEO of both the authority and Mohegan Sun, announced that he would relinquish responsibility for Mohegan Sun’s day-to-day operation to focus on authority business. Hartmann, then Mohegan Sun’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, was elevated to CEO of Mohegan Sun, effective January 2011.

The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority refinanced $1.6 billion in long-term debt in March of this year, pushing back maturity dates to 2015 and later. Around the same time, Etess and Hartmann agreed to three-year contract extensions with the Mohegan Tribe. Under the deals, Etess and Hartmann were to be paid $1.4 million and $1.3 million in the first year. The contracts were to extend to June 30, 2015.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com