Gaming didn't come easy for the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. In 1994, tribal members voted 2-1 against getting into the casino business.

But after seeing the benefits gaming brought to neighboring tribes, the Alabama-Coushattas voted in 2000 in support of a casino. So in November 2001, the tribe opened a Class III facility on the reservation, bringing in $1 million a month.

The good times ended in July 2002, a month after a federal judge ordered the casino to shut down. But tribal leaders have hope that gaming will return under a plan advanced by Gov. Rick Perry (R) to legalize slot machines and use the revenues for education.

"We�re trying for self-determination," chairman McClamroch Battise tells The Houston Chronicle.

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Tribe hopes for revival of gambling, prosperity (The Houston Chronicle 7/12)