Who is opposing the Cascade Locks Casino?
Why would anyone oppose an agreement that creates jobs, protects the environment and provides scholarships for thousands of Oregon college students?
The answer is greed.
A coalition — funded by a competing casino and tavern owners who control nearly 5000 gambling terminals in the metro area — is working to stop the Cascade Locks Casino by falsely claiming that the casino will be located on environmentally sensitive lands. In fact, the casino’s location was selected to protect Hood River lands and place the casino where it would be welcomed and would be no threat to the environment.
Myth vs. Reality:
But wouldn’t a casino at this site be the first "off-reservation" casino in Oregon?
-
No. It is a little known fact that many of the federally-recognized Oregon tribes have built their casinos on land they added to their reservation for purposes of gaming. These “restored tribes” – including the Grand Ronde [Spirit Mountain Casino], the Coos/Lower Umpqua/Siuslaw [Three Rivers Casino – Florence], the Coquille [The Old Mill Casino – North Bend] and the Siletz [Lincoln City – about 30-35 miles from their reservation] – used special Congressional Acts or federal laws to acquire the specific new land parcels for their casinos. Similarly, the Warm Springs are proposing to use Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to bring 35 acres in Cascade Locks into trust for the purpose of a gaming facility. This would actually be the 7th “off-reservation” casino in Oregon.
Wouldn’t this proposal result in more casinos being built in Oregon and "open the floodgates" to more casinos in the Portland area?
-
No. There are currently 9 Indian casinos in Oregon. When the Warm Springs close their Kah-Nee-Ta Casino and move it to Cascade Locks, there will still only be 9 Indian casinos. Governor Kulongoski preserved the “one Casino” per tribe rule in the compact for the Cascade Locks casino. There will be no increase and no “proliferation.” Governor Kulongoski rightly approved this project because of the Warm Springs' unique circumstances in their historic homeland, the Columbia River Gorge. No other tribe can replicate these unique circumstances. They own gaming-eligible pre-1988 trust property in Hood River. Cascade Locks was their home for thousands of years before the western migration of 1843, and they were moved to a reservation high-desert land they knew little about in 1855 for reasons of survival before Oregon was a state.
We don't know of any other tribe in Oregon that comes close to these circumstances. This is one of a kind. Assertions that this "opens the door to urban casinos" is hype and knowing misrepresentation by economic competitors seeking greater market share in the Portland gaming market and trying desperately to keep the Warm Springs out of that market.
Won’t this casino hurt small businesses like restaurants, bars, taverns and adult clubs because of "increased labor and pricing competition," eventually harming Oregon lottery retailers?
-
No. There are 908 lottery retailers in the Tri-County area who have brought 4,540 video terminals into neighborhoods for the purpose of convenience gambling. Slot machines will soon be added in many locations. The revenues from these businesses have continued to grow and fuel the growth in lottery proceeds to the state, even as highly profitable Indian casinos such as Spirit Mountain have expanded their size and revenues.
These lottery retailers — who have fought against sharing much of their take with the state – appeal to a different market than the customers who travel to an Indian casino, according to well-documented studies conducted by the prestigious consulting firm, EcoNorthwest. Additionally, the owners of these establishments and their lobbyists have a long history of fighting against increases in minimum wages and benefits for their employees that has nothing to do with the existence or location of Indian casinos.
Send the Governor your thanks and support for the Casino.
Governor Kulongoski’s historic agreement is the result of long negotiations with many interests. His work has resulted in preventing the location of a casino on environmentally sensitive tribal lands. It has established funds for college scholarships, environmental protection and community development.
The town of Cascade Locks will receive new jobs. The Warm Springs Tribe will receive the jobs and revenue it needs to become self-sufficient. The only opposition comes from a coalition — funded by a competing casino and tavern owners who control nearly 5000 gambling terminals in the metro area — that is determined to stop the project.