"We met with him (Sanford), but I can't say there was anything substantive," tribal attorney Jay Bender said. "He (Sanford) thinks the problem is Indians; I think the problem is him."

The Catawbas announced plans in August to open a second, high-stakes bingo operation along Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County. However, Sanford opposes the tribe's request, which would allow for a 24-hour gaming operation, seven days a week. The proposal also would allow for large jackpots but stop short of a full-fledged casino.

Catawba leaders argue a second bingo hall will help the tribe recoup financial losses caused by the S.C. Education Lottery. The tribe has requested to have its proposed gaming operation in Santee placed under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act rather than state authority, Bender said.

State Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, said Catawba leaders now realize the state level is where they should be making their appeal.

Hayes, who recently held a press conference in opposition to the Catawbas' proposed Santee bingo operation and the possibility of video poker on the tribe's York County reservation, was a guest last week on the WRHI half hour radio news information program, Straight Talk.

"The Catawbas went to the federal delegation first," Hayes said on the program. "The proper forum should be the state legislature and the governor.

"They plan to make a proposal to the state legislature and the governor, but there's a very good chance I will not go along with gambling in this state," Hayes said. "I'm opposed to what they want to do in Santee and opposed to video poker on the reservation."

Under the 1993 federal and local settlement that ended a long-standing land dispute, the Catawbas were recognized by the United States as a limited sovereign Indian nation and were permitted to open two bingo halls. According to the agreement, one of those operations had to be located within the tribe's original land claim. The Cherry Road bingo hall opened in 1997.

Sanford, thus far, has prevented the York County-based tribe from opening a second bingo hall partly based on the opinion of Nevada Sen. John Ensign. However, Ensign, whose family owns a state resort and casino, is the general manager of two casinos and his father is the chairman of the board of a casino, Bender said.

Ensign reportedly has received major campaign contributions from the Mandalay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

"He's the guy making the decision about what we can do in Santee and he received $175,000 in campaign contributions from the Mandalay Casino," Bender said. "That strikes me as irresponsible."

The Catawbas announced in November it was accepting applications for a possible video poker operation to be established on the reservation in York County. State and local officials have said they will enforce the law which banned video poker statewide in July 2000. To date, the video poker operation has not begun.

Contact Denyse Clark at 329-4069 or mailto:dclark@heraldonline.com