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December 11, 2006

Could slots revenue be on the agenda tomorrow?

PROVIDENCE -- Narragansett Indian tribe Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas will meet with Governor Carcieri in his State House office tomorrow afternoon, the first meeting between the two leaders since the tribe’s casino bid failed.

The tribe requested the meeting a couple of weeks ago, according to Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman.

Neal did not say what would be discussed at the meeting except that the governor and chief sachem would “explore relations between the tribe and the state” and how “they can work together in the coming year.”

Among the outstanding issues between the state and the tribe is a payment of $392,547 that represents the tribe’s share of revenue from new slot machines at Lincoln Park. Carcieri has offered the money but the tribe has yet to take it, saying it wants clarification about what the money can and cannot be used for.

An effort by the tribe and Harrah’s Entertainment to build a casino in West Warwick was rejected by a wide margin last month. Carcieri was long opposed to the casino.

With the casino effort dead for the time being, the two sides might be able to more easily move on to other topics.

-- Journal staff writer Scott Mayerowitz

Those include the lawsuit filed by one of the tribe’s previous partners on a casino project, which says it is owed $10 million because of the Lincoln Park cash. The shareholders of the former Capital Gaming International Inc. say that the tribe’s promised cut of new video slot machines at Lincoln Park triggers an agreement made with the gambling company in 2001.

Then there is the issue of the July 2003 raid by state police on a smoke shop on tribal land that was selling tax-free cigarettes. Troopers seized cigarettes and arrested eight tribal members, including Thomas.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on the case. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch is now moving forward with prosecuting the criminal charges, with a pretrial conference scheduled for Friday.

Thomas and the governor are also likely to talk about general economic development steps for the tribe. The two have met several times in the past, including two high-profile meetings in February and May of 2005.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 5:44 PM | Permalink

December 11, 2006

Could slots revenue be on the agenda tomorrow?

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