Thank God for Gregoire. Whew those Republicans almost came up with a decent solution to the financial crisis we have but good ol G dog stepped up and save the State for almost angering the Tribes.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016943073_gambling06m.html

She also said if she had her way there wouldn't be any casinos on or off reservations.

Maybe we should turn Harstine Island into the states major gambling destination? Myself I think the business is a sleazy one that the state should do it's best to keep out.

I enjoy driving across Washington, to visit my parents in Port Townsend, for two reasons:

There's no billboards and every gas station and convenience store is not a casino. In Montana, for all the beauty we have, we deface it with billboards everywhere, and every convenience store is a casino.

I would much rather have seven casinos in the whole state, on seven reservations, than the proliferation we have now. You really don't want to do this.....

The Gov being the Gov and her position being the state should not be in gambling. Now one more time the chorus. " What are the state lotteries? "

Hmmm, but she has no problem with taxing the hell out of people with addiction to tobacco, and then subsidizing the addiction of many of those very same people with welfare and food stamps.

Note: While the EBT Card will not buy alcohol or tobacco products, it does allow more of a person's personal income to be used for those purposes.

We feed you and your kids...so you can make bad choices to slowly kill yourself and provide the state with tax revenue. Then the (in some cases) viscous circle continues...

Last I checked the state doesn't run a single casino.

They run the lottery, and scratch tickets, and so on......

Gregoire also protects the monopoly held by Tribes on gaming.

Make the cost of a gaming license high, with high annual renewal fees. That would limit the number of entrants into the pool. Tax the crap out of it.

Seems so simple to me. Tribes, you want exclusivity, we want revenue from you. No revenue, no exclusivity. Estimate the expected revenue, account for assumed social costs, present the number to the tribes and let them say yes or no. Proposal for 5 years, then renewed or altered.

So you propose giving the lottery to the tribes?

Some think no matter how low the tribes stupe for dollars that we should follow. I'm one who thinks the tribes should have never been allowed casinos nation wide but if they want to "do whatever they want because they are sovern" then we should have banned non-tribal members form giving them tax free dollars. There wouild be no tribal casinos if that were the case.

Monkey see Monkey do. Hell the tribes have been trained by white
eyes. They are just doing what they have learned by observation
of our antics.

"Woulda coulda shoulda isn't the reality we have to deal with."

Can do it now. Block non-tribal access to the reservations. In the past we've busted non-tribals for buying fireworks, non-taxed smokes and non-taxed booze. Why not gaming without paying a state tax? Your reality has us sinking to their level. I have yet to see a neighborhood enhanced by a casino.

The state is getting out of the liquour business the morality being one of the factors.

I'd like to see how the Tribes respond to a blockade. I don't see that as being realistic. You really want another "wounded knee" incident, would you? Nothing written in any treaty or compact were they ever guaranteed any sort of monopoly on gaming.

Having actually reviewed Tribal financials for numerous Tribes, over 10, I can tell you without a doubt that these casinios are cash cows.

If anything, deregulating casino gaming, but keeping the entry point for licenses high ($1 mil or better) would be a shot across the bow of the Tribes, essentially making them come back to the table and talk revenue sharing. They would rather give a portion of their revenues away than allow entry of other competition. They love monopolies.

When the State stopped allowing smoking in non-tribal casinos in December 2005, the tribes jumped for joy, because they have special rules. As a result the bulk of non-tribal casinos shut their doors.

Instead of dealing with the Tribes as a business, which they really are now through their enterprise boards, Gregoire has fallen all over herself to give away the store, without any real attempt at negotiating. She loves monopolies as well.

Seems like a pretty easy source of "Revenue" for the State.

How about we remove the law imposed by the Evil Margarita "Let Them Pump Gas" Prentice making online poker a felony. That law caused no end of grief for what should be a money making machine for the State.

Soon enough the Feds are going to come to their senses and regulate Online Poker. We need the State of Wa to be prepared to get on the cash train.

POKER IS NOT A CRIME!

Not really...they can't be busted unless they take it off the reservation...a very, very large and significant difference.

Fish on...

Todd

And..."winners" should still be paying taxes on their winnings, as income...it's the tribes that get 99% of the money, and where it would be useful to get the tax money out of

Fish on...

Todd

Why not get the best of both worlds (revenue and not having every store in state turned into a casino)... We need someone to wave a gun at the tribes...

"We want a tax on your casino revenues... If you won't agree to the tax, we'll open up gaming state-wide and get it that way *and* you'll lose your investments in all your fancy casinos".

B

Right now the tribes support the current Administration, who wouldn't do that to them...and if the current Administration said they would do it, the tribes would turn right around and give it to the other party, who would immediately do a 180 degree switch on supporting the tribes' casinos and gambling.

Fish on...

Todd

Let's use the same logic to stop gill netting. The state will allow full out gill netting to get the tribes to cave.

What is your realistic suggestion? Mine is at least realistic.

Also, there are already other competitors in that market, gillnetting, so there is no monopoly.

Todd,

Taxes are only paid if on one spin you win over 1200 or 1300. But if you have 10 spins of 1000, you win. 10k tax free