A judge ruled Tuesday that the Catawba Indians of Rock Hill can operate video poker machines on their reservation despite a statewide ban on the practice, but tribal officials say they're willing to swap that right for the chance to operate a new bingo parlor in Santee.

Special Circuit Judge Joseph M. Strickland said a 1993 settlement between the state and the tribe over 144,000 disputed acres also gave the Catawbas the right to operate video poker, which has been banned in South Carolina since 2000.

A deal to bring bingo to Santee, which is 90 minutes north of Charleston on Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County, fell apart last year in the Statehouse. But tribal leaders Tuesday said a swap still was possible: They'd give up video poker at the Rock Hill reservation in exchange for the Santee bingo parlor.

"The tribe feels very strongly that its proposed bingo hall in Santee will be a benefit for tribal members and the residents of the Santee area," Catawba attorney Jay Bender said.

"The tribe would forgo its right to operate video poker and similar electronic play on its reservation," he said.

Tuesday's ruling comes after the tribe sued the state in July, claiming it could legally operate video poker machines on its 760-acre reservation in York and Lancaster counties.

The tribe also argued profits from its Rock Hill bingo hall had dropped by nearly half since South Carolina adopted a statewide lottery in 2002.

The judge sifted through hundreds of years of treaties, some dating back to the period of British rule, before siding with the Catawbas.

Bender said bringing bingo to Santee shouldn't be feared and could create as many as 1,100 jobs.

As envisioned, the parlor would allow players to take part in short, "fast-action" bingo games while pursuing pots linked to other Indian reservations in the United States.

Video poker isn't being considered by the tribe as an option at Santee, Bender said.

The tribe doesn't own land in Santee.

Its executive committee voted Dec. 6 to delay opening a video poker facility on the reservation "to give the General Assembly an opportunity to enact laws that would allow the tribe to replace the video poker provision of the settlement with a high-stakes, electronic bingo hall at Santee."

Attorney General Henry McMaster said he would appeal video poker decision.

He compared the tribe's decision to sue the state for the right to bring back a banned form of gambling to blackmail.

"By their own admission, the Catawbas are using Judge Strickland's order and the threat of video poker as leverage to force the people of South Carolina, through their General Assembly, into authorizing the tribe's operation of an electronic bingo casino in Santee," McMaster said.

"This is an unsavory tactic," he said.

McMaster said he would ask the General Assembly to oppose "any and all efforts" to reintroduce casino-style electronic gambling in the state.

The origins of the land dispute between the state and the Indians dates back centuries and covers 144,000 acres taken by South Carolina in 1840.

The tribe said it never was properly compensated for the loss of the land.

A $50 million settlement in 1993 sought to end the dispute by allowing, among other things, the tribe to operate high-stakes bingo at two sites. The settlement was approved by Congress.

Contact Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551, or skropf@postandcourier.com.