Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) is being criticized for lobbying Interior Secretary Gale Norton about the Northern Arapaho Tribe's gaming operation.

Freudenthal wrote a letter to Norton suggesting that the tribe pay $900,000 to the state to offset the impacts of gaming. "It appears that the state is in a desperation mode right now, grasping for anything they can get their hands on," Rick Brannan, the chairman of the tribal business council, told the Associated Press.

The request was accompanied by a court motion filed by state attorney general Pat Crank. The state is seeking an order that would require the tribe to pay the money, which had been proposed as part of failed compact negotiations in 2002. The failed negotiations led to a court case that upheld the tribe's right to offer the "full gamut" of Class III games.

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Wyo. won't seek new compact with Arapahos, but wants cash (AP 11/30)