Indian Gaming > Choctaw chief vows to abide by gaming referendum

November 06, 2006

Choctaw chief vows to abide by gaming referendum

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Mississippi Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin says the tribe won't move forward with an off-reservation casino unless the community supports it.

Martin asked Jackson County to schedule a non-binding referendum on the casino in 2008, during the next presidential election. "The people of the county will have to approve a referendum on the issue before we move forward, and success with that task is far from certain," he told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

The casino site is on the Gulf Coast, more than 200 miles from the Choctaw reservation. A group of pastors and a group of Gulf Coast casinos are organizing opposition.

The tribe spent $840,000 on lobbying fees last year, the paper said, by hiring Kevin Ring, a former associate of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The tribe also hired a firm with ties to Sen. Trent Lott and Gov. Haley Barbour (R), who has to sign off on the casino.

Get the Story:
War near over plans for Coast casino (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 11/5)