I had forgotten all about the Kickapoo Eagle Pass casino. But, the Kickapoo may not be allowed to operate much longer. The Texas Atty General, Greg Abbott-running for Gov. (and former Atty General –now Tex. Sen. John Cornyn) is fighting the license and the case is headed to the US Supreme Court.
Texas gambling history also includes the sordid gambling shenanigans involving: Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Grover Norquist, Michael Scanlon and Tom Delay. These include event that led to the conviction of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In short Abramhoff was taking lobbying money from the tribes who wanted gambling licenses and then “double dealing” and working against them through a money laundering scheme with Ralph Reed (Christian Conservative) to lobby against them. He would also work the tribes against themselves.
A brief history of Texas’s Native Indian gambling:
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that since federally recognized Indian tribes are considered sovereign entities they could have casinos outside of state jurisdiction.
Texas has three federally-recognized tribes:
• Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
• Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas
• Tigua Reservation
This 1987 Supreme Court ruling led to the 1987 Registration Act followed by the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Only the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas is authorized under the IGRA to operate a casino. The Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta tribes were granted federal recognition under the 1987 Indian Restoration Act, but were specifically prohibited by that act from casino operations.
Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino
In 1996 the Kickapoo established the Lucky Eagle Casino in the small town of Eagle Pass about 100 miles south of San Antonio.
In 2008 the Texas Attorney General’s office sued over the legality of the casino even though the Kickapoo are an IGRA tribe. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court after the tribe lost in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tigua’s Speaking Rock Casino
In 1992 the Tigua tribe of El Paso petitioned Governor Ann Richards to negotiate a gaming compact for an Indian casino on their reservation, however, the governor rejected their request. The Tigua felt their rights under federal law were ignored, so in 1993, they opened the Speaking Rock Casino without state approval. That began a ten year battle in the courts over the legality of their casino……The final judicial decision came in January 2002 when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the tribe.
The Tigua reopened the Speaking Rock Casino in 2007 without a court order, so in March 2008 the Office of the Attorney General filed a Contempt of Court Motion against the Tigua.
Alabama-Coushatta Casino
In 2001 the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas opened a tribal casino in Livingston, Texas. After nine months of operations it was forced to close after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe was violating the 1987 Indian Restoration Act which prohibited their operating a casino. The casino generated $1 million/month for its tribal members during is operation.
http://500nations.com/Texas_Casinos.asp ... asinos.asp
The Jack Abramoff Native American lobbying scandal is a United States political scandal relating to the work performed by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American casino gambling interests for an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multimillion-dollar profits. In one case, they were secretly orchestrating lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Abram ... ng_scandal