The state and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have signed a brand new ten-year gambling agreement for the tribe's Grand River Casino in Mobridge. Tribal Head Ron His Horse Is Thunder and Governor Mike Rounds signed the agreement signed the compact on June 2nd, 2009 at the casino facility. Rounds said that the new agreement is good for ten years, which is 6 years longer than the previous gaming compact.
The agreements states the term and conditions for the Indian tribe to manage the casino especially the number of card games like blackjack tables and wager limits that it can feature. The agreement between the Standing Rock Tribe and South Dakota was last modified in 2001.
The Standing Rock reservation occupies the North Dakota-South Dakota boundary. The maximum wager limit is $100, the same limit state law sets for wagers at privately managed casinos in Deadwood. The Indian tribe agreed to a condition requiring up to $1 million in general liability insurance to protect players who may be injured while inside the casino.
The revise compact is subject to study by the US Secretary of the Interior, who must approve or dismiss the agreement within forty-five days. A 1988 federal law states that the tribe can offer the same kind of gaming that is permitted elsewhere in the state after they negotiate an agreement with the state. Indian tribes in the state of South Dakota started negotiating agreements to manage their own casino facilities after voters approved limited gaming in Deadwood in 1989.
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is the only tribe among the nine tribes in the State that does not possess casino gaming. Majority of the other gaming compacts have been enforced for a number of years. Usually, they are renewed after 4 to 5 years. Meghan Dilges of the attorney general's office said that most of the gaming compacts are similar in what they include. She added that most compacts have been extended since they were first made in the 1990's.
Gaming compacts with the Yankton Sioux Indian tribe and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe were recently extended for another 4 years. Three other gaming compacts are up for renewal this 2009 and one is the subject of case filed in the federal court. Assistant Attorney General John Guhin said that most compacts have automatic renewal where if neither side says they want any changes they automatically renew. The governor chooses someone to talk on his behalf with an Indian tribe and the attorney general's office guides the governor's representative.
Sunday, June 28 , 2009
Victor Sanchez