ALBUQUERQUE -- A Texas Indian tribe wants to build a casino on 10 acres in Southern New Mexico to replace one that the state of Texas shut down four years ago.
But a lobbyist for Sunland Park Race Track and Casino, which is just 15 miles southwest of the proposed site, argues that the plan by the Tigua tribe sets the stage for having "a casino on every corner."
The Tiguas' plan is at least the third off-reservation gambling proposal to emerge in New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday in a copyright story.
Jemez Pueblo and Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters are seeking permission to build a casino in Anthony, about 300 miles from the Northern New Mexico pueblo. Also, the Oklahoma-based Fort Sill Apache tribe has purchased 30 acres near Interstate 10 in Deming for a potential casino.
Scott Scanland, a lobbyist for Sunland Park casino, said the Tiguas' interest in building a casino in New Mexico was predictable.
"A little over two years ago, when this whole heinous scheme started, I testified along with others from Sunland Park in front of the Dona Ana County Commission and said that what is occurring now, would occur -- that there would be a casino on every corner," Scanland told the Journal.
The Tiguas' hope of gambling fortunes began in the mid-1990s with high-stakes bingo, followed by slot machines. Soon, their Speaking Rock Casino attracted 100,000 players monthly, earning the tribe about $60 million annually.
In 2002, a federal court agreed with then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn that the casino violated Texas' limited gambling laws and shut it down.
Tribal Gov. Art Senclair confirmed Monday that the tribe has asked the Albuquerque-based Southern Pueblos Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve placing the 10 acres in trust for the tribe.
The tribe holds a three-year option to buy the land from the James N. Bowen Trusts for $150,000, according to documents filed with the tribe's request. The land fronts N.M. 213 and abuts the New Mexico-Texas border.
Senclair said in the request the tribe would ask New Mexico's governor for a gaming compact and permission to engage in gaming activities under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Such off-reservation proposals need both state and federal approval.
Gov. Bill Richardson's office has not commented on the Tigua proposal, but the governor has put requests for additional gambling venues in New Mexico on hold pending a state review of the impact of the Hobbs track and casino.
Florine Gutierrez, superintendent of the Southern Pueblos Agency, said the Tiguas' request to have the land placed in trust status triggers a lengthy review process that could take more than two years. Ultimately, the final decision lies with the Interior Department, she said.
In the meantime, Senclair said the tribe will continue lobbying Texas lawmakers to allow tribal gambling in that state.
