Revisions to gaming compact in works

Changes a response to GOP suit; U.S. decision on deal expected today

By STEVE SCHULTZE sschultze@journalsentinel.com, Journal Sentinel

Sunday, April 6, 2003

State, federal and tribal negotiators this weekend are working on last-minute revisions to the gambling agreement between Gov. Jim Doyle and the Forest County Potawatomi tribe, based on objections raised by Republican lawmakers.

An announcement of the U.S. Interior Department's decision on the state-tribal compact is expected by a midnight deadline today.

Officials declined to give details of possible changes to the gambling deal, which calls for lifting the 1,000-machine limit on slot machines at the tribe's Milwaukee casino, permitting additional casino games such as craps and roulette and allowing the pact to run perpetually.

In exchange, the Potawatomi tribe would pay the state about $91 million over the next two years, an increase of nearly $78 million, and from 6.5% to 8% of its Milwaukee casino's "net win" in future years. Net win is total money gambled minus prize payouts.

The tribe has already announced a planned $120 million expansion and hiring of 1,000 extra employees at its Menomonee Valley casino, based on the new gambling agreement.

Marc Marotta, Doyle's secretary of administration, said in an interview late Friday that negotiators were concentrating on some issues raised in a lawsuit filed last week by Republican lawmakers.

That suit seeks to void the Potawatomi compact on grounds that it would illegally expand the scope of gambling in Wisconsin and further violate the state constitution by cutting the Legislature out of a decision-making role.

Marotta said he was optimistic federal officials "will apply the law the way it ought to be applied. If they have a problem with (the compact), we'll have to work with them."

Marotta was in New Orleans on Saturday for the NCAA basketball tournament and couldn't be reached.

Tom Krajewski, a spokesman for the Potawatomi tribe, declined to comment on possible revisions to the agreement Doyle completed with the tribe Feb. 19.

Objections raised by Republicans suggest several candidates for changes. One sticking point was a provision that said the tribe could offer any casino game already offered at other casinos within 75 miles of the Wisconsin border.

"With the 75-mile rule, you basically let other states and Canada affect what you do here," said Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer (R- West Bend).

Republicans also argue that adding casino games would violate a 1993 amendment to the state constitution that banned gambling expansions. Tribal lawyers have said federal law permitting casinos on tribal lands supersedes state restrictions.

The gambling compact's perpetual duration impermissibly prevents any future Legislature from passing judgment on forms of gambling that might automatically win approval if a neighboring state offered them, Republicans also argue.

The open-ended feature of the Potawatomi deal is what has generated the most heat, with opponents saying a certain ending date is needed so the state retains some leverage over casino operations.

Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Peshtigo) said Saturday that the Republican lawsuit would continue to be pressed in court, regardless of federal action. He said he expected the Interior Department to passively allow the Potawatomi deal to go into effect.

The department can actively approve or reject such compacts; taking no action within a 45-day review period also means the compact is approved.

Mark Jarboe, a Minneapolis attorney who has represented dozens of tribes, said he thought it was unlikely the Interior Department would reject a compact based on questions like those raised by Wisconsin lawmakers.

"The secretary of interior generally doesn't get involved much in intrastate authorization or disputes," Jarboe said. "Her job is to look at it and see if the compact complies with federal law."

The Potawatomi deal is the first gambling deal Doyle has completed with the state's 11 tribes and is expected to serve as a model for the rest.

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