move of Eagle Mt Casino

THE RELOCATION OF EAGLE MOUNTAIN CASINO - AN ILLOGICAL CHOICE


The arguments on each side of the scale regarding the benefits and detriments
of the relocation of the Eagle Mountain casino - now located on the Tule Indian
Reservation - to a new parcel along Highway 190 near Success Lake must be viewed
objectively without the fanfare and glitter that accompanies casinos. The cost of
a full-size Las Vegas style casino with hotel, restaurant with bars (alcohol) and
entertainment is in the area of $200,000,000.00 (two hundred million dollars) using
the recent Chukchansi casino as a basis for estimation. The apparent purpose of
tribal leaders to expand along Success Lake rather than to expand on reservation
land is to compete with the Lemoore Casino and the recently opened Chukchansi casino in
Coarsegold. The problems of such an expansion can be categorically defined.

The land is not Indian reservation land, but trust property with the Bureau
of Indian Affairs. By making advanced plans the Tule Indian tribe hopes to acquire
approval from the governor and Secretary of the Interior to allow them off-reservation
gambling. Indian tribes claim immunity from taxes and regulations on their reservations
due to their status as a sovereign nation and this would equally apply to the new
casino.

The new casino will spoil the pristine nature of Lake Success and the Springville
valley, and will change the reputation of the region into a gambling haven similar
to that of Lemoore or Coarsegold. The new casino will increase traffic on Highways
190, 65 and 99, and especially with bars and entertainment accidents and congestion
will increase.

The income from the existing casino could be better spent on education and invested
into the local economy rather than casino expansion, and spent on improving Reservation
Road to decrease accidents. More jobs would thus be created and the money would
return into the local economy. Permitting off-reservation gambling is not advancement
for the Tule Indian tribe, but further exploitation of the tribal land status as
a 'sovereign nation' by investors and gambling promoters.

As opposed to popular opinion, a casino actually depletes the local economy.
The excess income that local residents would donate to churches, charities, foundations
or other beneficial causes, or would otherwise invest locally, would now be routed
to the casino, and then in turn such gambling revenues would be funnelled to investors.
The only businesses that financially gain are those who will do business directly
with the casino, and the owners of these businesses are the poeple who promote casino
expansion.

The side effects of accessible gambling has been documented by studies, such
as by Maura Casey of New London, CT. She lists financial losses and increased debt
as a result of gambling, and which for many leads to bankruptcy; the attempted suicide
rate among addicted gamblers is 20%, and alcoholism is rampant.Pathological gamblers
>are 1% of the residents within 50 miles of a casino, while problem gamblers
are 3%. The most striking conclusion of Casey's study is that 42 cents was spent
dealing with the problems that evolved from a gambling casino for every $1.00 that
the state received. Employees of casinos easily succumb to temptation and embezzle
funds, the vice breeding more corruption. The atmosphere of a casino likewise causes
the morality of adults, both young and old, to decline.

Politicians - beginning with Governor Gray Davis - regularly accept contributions
from Indian casinos for their re-election campaigns, and Indian casinos likewise
donate occasionally to local charities, although the amounts are only a pittance
of their actual income. We need to realize that no political contribution is made
by anyone without expecting something in return, and in this situation it is the
expansion off the reservation.

The baffling enigma in this debate is the legacy to be left by Tulare County
Supervisor Jim Maples. After 30 years of teaching at Porterville College, 10 years
as a county supervisor, a member of the First Baptist Church of Porterville, the
legacy he will leave behind at the conclusion of such public service is that of
a gambling promoter.

The Eagle Mountain Casino must be contained in the manner legislation presently
states, within the Tule Indian Reservation, and elected officials have the responsibility
to enforce this. To relocate the casino is an illogical choice and will be a detriment
to the environment, morality and economy of the local region, both Tulare and Kern
counties. Residents of both Tulare and Kern counties must voice their objection
by writing to the supervisors of Tulare county, the governor-elect of California,
the Secretary of the Interior, and to other state and federal officials.