Editorial: Poarch Creek gaming deal deserves consideration

As the Advertiser's Brian Lyman reported, no one knows how much revenue a compact with the Poarch Creeks, Alabama's only federally recognized tribe, would bring the state. The key figure would be the percentage of the tribe's gambling take it agreed to pay the state. Even the most preliminary discussions with the tribe should be able to produce some ballpark numbers based on different percentages and the experiences of other states. It would be a logical place to start.

But all of that, of course, assumes the presence of a compact, which is a huge assumption, as uncertain as the spin of a roulette wheel, if not more so. The Poarch Creeks have no obligation to enter into a compact even if one were proposed by the state.

The Poarch Creeks hold the better cards now. The tribe can continue doing what it's doing, profitably running its Class II gambling operations and paying nothing to the state. It has no incentive to enter into a compact.

No incentive, that is, unless the state offers one. Therein lies the tough political question for Bentley and the Legislature. A compact would mean sweetening the pot, some kind of enticement in return for a specified share of the tribe's revenue.