The Buffalo Thunder Resort at Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico. Photo from Facebook
The Class III gaming compact between Pojoaque Pueblo and the state of New Mexico expires at midnight tonight. The tribe has not signed a new deal due to disagreements with Gov. Susana Martinez (R). She contends the Buffalo Thunder Resort and the Cities of Gold will be operating illegally when the deadline passes tonight. “While it is the federal government’s responsibility to crack down on illegal gaming, individuals and organizations that do business with Pojoaque may subject themselves to criminal and civil penalties,” a spokesperson told The Albuquerque Journal. The U.S. Attorney's Office did not say what it would do if the tribe continues to offer Class III games without a compact. And the Bureau of Indian Affairs won't comment because the matter is in litigation. The tribe asked the BIA to issue Class III gaming procedures after failing to reach an agreement with Martinez. But Judge James Parker last October blocked the move, ruling that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows the federal government to step in only when a court has held a state to be in bad faith and only after the state has gone through a mediation process. Neither of those conditions have been met in New Mexico, Parker determined. The tribe and the BIA have taken the case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Briefs have been filed by all parties but a date for oral argument hasn't been set. Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, New Mexico v. DOI. Get the Story:
Clock ticks on Pojoaque gambling (The Albuquerque Journal 6/30)
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