The Mill Bay Casino on the Colville Reservation in Washington. Photo from Facebook
Washington tribes will be able to add more machines to their casinos under a new Class III gaming compact under review in the state. Tribes have almost reached the cap of about 28,000 machines set by compacts finalized in 2007, The Tacoma News-Tribune reported. The new deal would set up a process by which the overall number could grow as high as 90,000, the paper said. But some tribal leaders don't think that will ever happen due to market conditions. Gaming revenues flattened out a $2.2 billion last year, the paper said. “I think it can only go so big anyway, and then the market is full,” Mel Tonasket, the vice chairman of the Colville Tribes, told the paper. The process by which the cap can increase depends on the arrival of new casinos or the expansion of existing facilities. The paper said fewer than 10 tribes are in that situation so it could take years before the number of machines will grow. The compact covers 27 of 29 tribes. The Washington State Gambling Commission will vote on the new agreement on February 13. Get the Story:
Tribal-state deal would put gambling expansion on autopilot (The Tacoma News-Tribune 1/24)
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Washington tribes reach new Class III gaming compacts (01/15)
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