Area officials sound off on proposed casino
Sunday, April 16, 2006 2:09 AM PDT
Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
ONTARIO
The possibility of a gaming facility near Ontario provoked generally favorable responses from several current and former county and state elected leaders.
However, the overall positive outlook expressed by officials was also mixed with a “wait and see” sentiment regarding a proposed casino.
Rumors about a possible local gaming facility, pushed by the Burns Paiute tribe, have continued to build during the past few months.
One senior tribal official said last week an announcement regarding the issue will be made soon.
Malheur County Judge Dan Joyce said the casino issue was brought up during a recent conference of the National Association of Counties (NACO) in Washington, D.C.
Joyce said several speakers at the conference mentioned the compacts negotiated between tribes and individual states. Information from the speakers indicated the compacts that worked the best were those that established a percentage of a casino's revenues go to counties, Joyce said.
Joyce also said it was the general opinion that casinos which are part of a destination resort, with a hotel, a golf course and other amenities and situated close to a regional airport, do the best.
The main presenter of the session at the NACO meeting was an attorney who has represented both counties and tribes, Joyce said.
John Breidenbach, executive director of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said he thought a casino would be good for the economy in the area.
“I feel it would be a great thing for tourism,” he said.
Breidenbach also said he felt a casino would help other businesses in the community. Pendleton, which has the Wildhorse Casino, pulls in more business conferences than Ontario does, Breidenbach said. Ontario Mayor LeRoy Cammack said he agreed a casino may bring some economic value to the community, but wanted to withhold further comment until there is more information available about the venture. While a new compact with the state of Oregon has been approved by the governor for a casino in Cascade Locks, Rep. Tom Butler, R-Ontario, said that issue is now on appeal by opposing parties.
Butler said the appeal process could take several years. However, Butler said, he thinks the compact has a better than average chance of being approved.
Personally, Butler said he would prefer the tribe find another way to generate economic development other than gaming.
However, that is difficult, especially for the poorer tribes that have few resources, he acknowledged. “They do make a lot of money,” Butler said. “They are very profitable.”
While rumors and speculation have swirled around the casino issue for a number of months locally, one former elected leader said he has been aware of a plan by the Burns Paiute tribe for a gaming facility for some time.
“We've known about that (a gaming facility) for three years,” former Malheur County Judge Russ Hursh said Friday.
Those plans, Hursh said, include more than just a casino.
Hursh said the tribe also wants to create a distribution center locally for their art and jewelry. Although he did not have a specific location, Hursh said the tribe prefers a site near the end of the extension of 18th Avenue, close by the freeway, where there is a proposal for on and off ramps east of the existing Idaho Avenue interchange.
Hursh said when the discussions first came up he had concerns about what type of activities a casino would bring to the community, and he shared those concerns with Oregon state Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day. Hursh said Ferrioli told him to go look at the casino operations already in place to see if they had the problems which Hursh had mentioned. Hursh said he had to admit the gaming operations were clean.
“We tend toward being overprotective,” Hursh said. Hursh said a casino in Ontario would help the economy.
“It will bring business to Ontario,” Hursh said.
