Tribe presses for Santee bingo

By LEE HENDREN, T&D Staff Writer

Gov. Mark Sanford believes the state Legislature should decide who sets the ground rules for a bingo hall that the Catawba Indian Nation would like to establish in Santee.

Sanford made his views known Dec. 5 in a meeting with Catawba Chief Gilbert Blue, according to Terry Collier, chairman and chief executive officer of Southern Property Management, which works closely with the tribe.

Tribal officials had requested the meeting with the governor, hoping it would help resolve an impasse over their request to operate the Santee facility under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

With the rise of the state education lottery, the tribe's profits have plummeted at its Rock Hill bingo hall, where jackpots and operating hours are limited by state regulations.

A lawsuit settlement with the state gives the tribe, the only federally recognized Native American tribe in South Carolina, the right to operate two gaming facilities.

The Catawbas would like to establish a second gaming facility at the Santee Outlet Mall, but want to be placed under the same federal regulations that govern nearly all Indian gaming facilities.

"The tribe's first preference is to have a Class 2 bingo hall at Santee under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act," said Jay Bender, an attorney for the tribe.

That would allow for much higher jackpots, 24-hour operations and computerized bingo games networked with gaming halls in other states. Class 2 does not include casino games.

"Its other options include litigation against the state and video poker on the reservation in Rock Hill. Those are certainly much less favored options than bingo at Santee," Bender said.

"I know the word video poker conjures up bad images," said Collier, adding that the Catawbas are talking about establishing a gaming facility similar to the one at Cherokee, N.C.

"It would be similar to what class 3 gaming would be on a federal level," Collier said. "The gross income for that facility would be more than (a bingo hall in) Santee."

But there would be opposition to such a facility in Rock Hill, while "we've still got a lot of support in Orangeburg County and we appreciate those people staying with us," Collier said.

"But the tribe is getting weary of negotiating with itself and (getting) no response from the state," whose own lottery would be considered class 3 gaming under the federal regulations, Collier added.

The Dec. 5 meeting -- the eighth between Sanford and tribal officials, by Collier's count -- was cited as an example of the one-sided discussions in which Catawba officials make various proposals and statements and answer all of the governor's questions, while the governor remains coy.

"What his position is, we don't really know, except that he's been part of the effort to stop the thing from going through in Washington," Collier said.

At the most recent meeting, Collier said, Blue told the governor: "I'd like to know where you stand on it: whether you're for it or against it. And if you say you're against it, we understand that. And if you're for it, we understand that."

"We didn't get a direct answer from the governor on any of it, except that the governor thought it should go through the General Assembly," Collier said.

Collier also said Chief Blue informed the governor that "our goal remains firmly to be in Santee. We've invested a heck of a lot of money and time in that effort. We've got a lot of support and we think we're needed there."

"But if that doesn't happen, we're going to do what's necessary for the tribe to do. We've got to do what our lawyers tell us we can do and whatever that is, it is. ... And if the state doesn't agree with what we do, then perhaps we'll fight it out in court."

The tribe is losing money every day the Santee bingo hall is delayed, Bender said. "Had the governor not intervened to halt the (federal) legislation, I suspect the facility might have been up and running by now."

Supporters say the bingo hall will create high-paying jobs in a county with a high unemployment rate, as well as spin-off economic benefits to area businesses at Exit 98 off Interstate 95.

"I think the governor is developing an awareness of the consequences of his actions in terms of economic development in the area," Bender said.

"The opportunity seems to exist for a continuing discussion with the governor's office," Bender said, "and the Catawbas will make every effort to continue that discussion."

"We didn't go in there anticipating that the governor was going to jump on the bandwagon," Blue said. "He still doesn't want to be on the forefront of enhancing gaming in the state. I can understand that."

"We wanted to get him to think positive about some directions we were going in and see there was some room for negotiations."

"He said, 'I'm open to discussions.' The door is still open. We felt pretty good about that. His willingness to talk with us, not just then but further, I thought, was encouraging."

"We came away with the feeling that he was willing to look at some of the avenues that both of us might come up with, so I felt pretty good about the meeting," Blue concluded.

Will Folks, a spokesman for Sanford, said he "obviously could not comment on the particulars" of the Dec. 5 meeting.

"From the beginning of this process, the governor has made his position fairly clear," Folks said. "But he has also been more than willing to sit down with folks from the Catawba Nation and discuss the issue."

"The governor's door is always open."

T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552.

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