What's with Indians and gambling? It seems you can't have one without the other.
I spend some time at casinos, looking at the people. What I am looking for is someone that actually looks HAPPY, but I don't see that. Instead, I see people intently staring at the slots, or whatever game they are playing, and they are not even smiling. I can't recall a single exception, but then, I never did catch anyone in the process of winning anything.
So, it costs me nothing to spend a few minutes in a casino, except for sometimes I enjoy a meal there, and that has always been excellent, and reasonably priced.
What gambling in a casino is, is a tax on people who do not understand mathematics. After all, we do owe the Natives something!
Anyone that believes in a sovereign nation, with justice for all, or equal protection under the law, will NOT give them a dime.
I have never figured out why in a country with such riches, we still give the Indians such special treatment. In Washington State, the tribes used the money from gambling, to keep slots out of non-tribal places of business, by buying advertising to influence the vote. They outspent the other side by something like 25 million to $10,000. They then pushed for a smoking ban in Pierce county, to give them another advantage (smoking on reservations is not subject to state law). Then when that was struck down by judges, they pushed for a state law to disallow smoking anywhere people work for a living, except for......tribal casinos of course.
Now they have been building gas stations, pumping fuel to all without collecting the $.31 a gallon gas tax. But wait, they get to collect the tax, and keep it to improve their roads, of course the state keeps the roads up anywhere in the state, but don't get picky.
They are building shopping malls, to sell clothes to the general public. They collect the 8.6% sales tax, and not remit it to the state, because they are not subject to the govt. They have been allowed to purchase land OFF the reservations, apply for exemptions, and the land then becomes tribal land, not subject to state law.
Soon anyone trying to compete with them will be out of business, but the tribes will buy them up cheaply, and the same businesses that used to pay taxes to the state and feds, will then be outside the system.
Unless the federal govt gets us out of this system, that allows tribal members to be "super citizens" we will continues down this road to Balkanization. Between the illegals pouring in over the Southern border, and the tribes, the numbers of those paying taxes will shrink, while those outside the system collect the cream.
Rumor hazit the San Manuel Indians are looking to put a casino near me in the Lake Arrowhead area of CA. They already have one down the hill in Highland.