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Tribe Has To Close Illegal Casino
NIGC shut us down May 27, 2003.
Yesterday, I saw the aftermath of a situation that could have been avoided all together if this administration had listened to reason and understood their own gaming requirements and responsibilities and seriously honored them and the authority of the NIGC. NIGC shut us down May 28, 2003. They (this council and chair) could and should have corrected their "ways" back when they were asked to look at their position during the Jan. membership meeting. If we had only voluntarily changed out our illegal class 3 slot machines like we asked LaRue to do several months ago, the NIGC would not have shut us down yesterday and one of our Elders (Gaming Comm. Chair) would not have had to handle this disreputable event all by herself. She did a darn good job of it and one of your council members was there to help (Noah), but the casino commissioner from Binger was a no show ( a Parker supporter) and though Parker, Kodaseet, and Hines were up at the complex, they elected to stay there. LaRue's obstinence got the Casino shut down, but she did not think she should involve herself to help correct the mess once it came undone I guess. Our Caddo employees are now out of an "x" number of days of pay, and the NIGC will have us on a different list than before.
I have been and still am a supporter of a Casino,but only if it is a clean and legally run operation. That is all that I have ever said. Yesterdays events are the culmination of the chairman's actions alone. The families inconvenienced and lacking in take home pay will suffer. The law enforcement officers attached to the Casino have been working there in noncompliance with the requirements called out by cleet and other regulations under which they conduct their duties. This could have caused any one of them trouble to the point of loosing their status as law enforcement ( law enforcement cannot knowingly work at an illegal gambling establishment). The officers are also held to the same sort of standard concerning working along side a known felon. They can loose their standing under those circumstances as well. Since I am a little gun shy so to speak at this time, I must let you figure that one out for yourselves.
Submitted by Anahwake Nahtanaba May 28, 2003
Tribe Opening Casino
QUESTIONS AFTER OUR MEMBERSHIP MEETING OF JAN. 18, 2003
Posted Jan. 23, 2003What do you think our positions should be on the Class 3 gambling machines? Did you catch that Chairwoman Parker did in fact admit in her opening letter to the membership meeting Saturday that there are illegal Class 3 machines operating. She thinks that when we are caught we will receive a citation and have time to remove the machines before the Tribe is fined.
The reality is that they are illegal machines. Also,we have no compact with the state of Oklahoma. We have asked the chairman if she had some plan of action, perhaps to test the case legally, and she said no. I am not sure she was clear as to the question, however. The NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission) agent visited the casino. She then met with the council. If she told the council that there were machines that they should not open with, that constitutes a warning. I really need some member of the council to confirm what exactly the NIGC agent said to them directly. But if this is so, the statement has been made and discussed as well as the fines and possible repercussions. Will the NIGC count this as a warning? What do you think?
I have asked for a copy of the contract between the Caddo tribe and the company that our council signed with for the casino. I have not gotten it yet. The chairman is trying to say that we should not see these things. Also, she says that other firms and companies are not willing to have the membership have knowledge of those agreements. Says who! This is our business. Tell me who should know more than the membership. Think about it. Any other citizen of the U.S. can get it because it is PUBLIC INFORMATION. So don't even waste our time with that.
So.. I guess my question is ..Is this a wise thing that was done here? The tribe opened the casino in open defiance of the NIGC and did not quite make it clear to your council if they were voting for class 2 or class 3 machines. If your answer is no, then what do we do to correct it? Is there any way that we can correct it? Do we simply wait for the NIGC ax to fall?
How long can our Caddo employees ride that roller coaster? Can we pull out all the illegal machines and put in the legal ones and do it before the NIGC can fine us? If so, the employees would be assured of a job that will not end some night with federal cops all over the place. If not, they would be jobless with no notice. The chairman says she has good machines to substitute for the bad ones. What's more important? Is it her wishes for a few pennies more or the security of Caddo employees and their families? They just want to work. They can't be discounted so off handily as this chairman has done. She is using them to "play her hand". I am sure she has told them how wonderful they are for coming in to a job every night and day that they don't even know if they will have by the end of their shift. She sure thanks them.
However, the fact is that she could cut this out right now and pull those machines and proceed legally. The employees would be safe then and our tribe would be doing legal business. Come on council or chairman. Tell us how you think that we cannot compete with out those illegal machines. Tell us about your profit margin and then tell us how the employees are factored into it. Your concern for the employees should be at the top of the issue and the top of the list. Can we make their jobs solid and secure for them with no RUDE interruptions? Yes we can and I think we should.
Well, I sure would like to hear from you on this. There are many more in's and out's to this so lets hear someone else on this subject. Please post your comments on the Message Board.
Submitted by Anahwake Nahtanaba
COUNCIL MEETING NOV. 20, 2002: ALL MEMBERS PRESENT
Our Chairman, Larue Parker has got us into the Casino business. It should be a Class 2, since Oklahoma does not have Class 3. So it should be just paper pull tabs. It will be in a trailer house at the Binger Y and known as the Pink Flamingo Casino. The guys that have brought us this grand new economic development seem to be more in the used trailer business than hot shot casino people. I only say this because the deal they offer requires us to buy a trailer that they supply and that they choose and us keeping and paying off the doubleside whether we are successful in the gaming venture or not.
The advent of entering this razzle dazzle casino world will increase our chairman's police force by two new officers. They will not be CLEET trained nor will they be certified as are our regular officers. They will be just regular guys with guns. Everyone should be aware that our present police force are employed by the Caddo tribe and they answer to the chairman. The Caddo police force is still under and paid out of the Cop grant fund. The police office is being moved next to the casino so they can have zero response time to any criminal activity.
Both of these activities, in my opinion, are questionable practices.
Submitted by Anahwake Nahtanaba
Wording updated, Jan. 12, 2003
COUNCIL MEETING DEC. 17 2002: ALL MEMBERS PRESENT
The most important issue on the docket : GAMING.
More than 3 weeks ago, the NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission) "got wind" of the Caddo tribe's intent to do gaming business . The NIGC knew that there were illegal machines in the proposed Caddo casino, and that the Caddo tribe had not adhered to the requirements and mandated regulations called for by law and necessary to the NIGC rules of gaming. NIGC Director Linda Sumner paid a visit to the Caddo tribal council and plainly spelled out the facts regarding the NIGC reg's and the gaming laws. Ms. Sumner spelled out what the infractions surrounding the present Caddo gaming set up were and how these present infractions could and should be corrected. Ms.Sumner went on to say that if, indeed, they were NOT made right that heavy fines WOULD be put in place and enforced in response to any attempt to do gaming with the machines now in this ridiculous trailer/box Chairman Larue calls a casino. This is the very reason that we Concerned Caddos made this website, to get just this kind of extremely important news to all Caddo membership.
The machines (or bill of goods) that your chairman, Larue Parker contracted for in your name are all class 3. So far, class 3 is illegal in the State of Oklahoma. Larue Parker knows that or she is supposed to!!! We all know it and we are not in the position that she is, having pledged to uphold our tribes best interest in all things. So much for her sincere OATH OF OFFICE. Ms. Sumner went on to advise this administration that the fines included a $25,000 PER INFRACTION, PER DAY for operating with illegal machines and any other infractions they might find.
Tell me, how can any elected official make the decision to go into a business venture, in the name of our tribe, knowing she is breaking the law and that by this action you are guaranteed a huge fine for the Caddo people to ultimately pay. This is reason to seriously rethink our choices here. Caddo Members, we must have better leadership --- some business sense wouldn't hurt. Who in the world would want to jeopardize our tribe, our honor, our money and what's left of our reputation in the "goofiest" way? I say this, because it is so completely goofy. It make no sense at all! It looks as though the council all went with the wacko maneuver. What are they thinking?
The chairman wants a "SOFT OPENING, " I am told. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out chairman Parker's design here, that is, if you really know the level of this woman's thinking. Parker is under the mistaken impression that if she is "real" quiet about this whole thing, no one (like the NIGC), will notice that she has opened up a casino! That's a brilliant move. Let's open up a casino and try not to let any one know! Yep, the little lady thinks that she can secretly operate long enough to make some bucks without CERTAIN PEOPLE snapping to it. And what about these bucks that she seems to so desperately need? That makes you wonder doesn't it? Why so desperate, Ms. Chairman? But what about those awful old pesky fines, Larue? And Caddos, what about those pesky legal fees that our tribe will no doubt be picking up when Ms. Parker needs to protect her hind quarters? I for one, here and now, refuse any liability in these fines because I have voiced my opinion on this and called it illegal business against which I protest and refuse any part in as a Caddo member. It might be a good thing for all tribal members to think about this and what impact these kind of actions put on our tribe. Think it over, members.
The Pink Flim-Flam-Ingo casino is opening oh so softly Dec. 19, 2002, against the law or not. What's not going to be soft is the response from the NIGC and other entities like the State of Oklahoma and the wrath of the Caddo Membership. Contact your district representative or our sources posted on THECADDO.COM website. We all would like, or at least wouldn't mind, having a casino or would we? Don't we need to discuss this in a membership meeting? If we are going to have one, let's do it honorably like viable business professionals. Come on Members, this is our family business. We need to have a hand in it being done right. We want to be able to hold our head up in all that we do. We owe it to our future. This truly is our family business.We need to start thinking that way. If we did have that frame of mind I'll bet that we all would have a new response to any employee who would make these idiotic decisions that can and will do us great harm, not to mention plain old stupidity. We have options. Think about it. Remember this is only my opinion. But think about it and let us know you opinion. You have that right, you know. Please exercise it!
Submitted by Anahwake Nahtanaba
