Public forum examines casino pros, cons

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Wednesday evening’s public forum on Indian gaming and the Navajo Nation’s soon-to-open Fire Rock Casino could be viewed as a debate to determine the lesser of two evils.

Or from the perspective of Navajo tradition, it could be viewed as a debate over which 21st century “monster” threatens the well-being of the Navajo people more: rampant unemployment and its resulting social ills or compulsive gambling and its resulting social ills.
But after an evening of questions, responses, and comments, the debate was hardly settled. On one side were proponents of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise who are gambling on the economic success of the tribe’s first venture into the gaming industry, and on the other side are gaming critics who believe the local community will rack up the greatest losses with the added burden of more social problems.

The well-attended forum, which attracted a mostly Native American audience, was held at UNM-Gallup and was sponsored by the school’s Native American Club. Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly, attorney Raymond Etsitty of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise, and addictions counselor Steven Peretti were the three panelists. Associate Professor Dale Mason, author of the book, “Indian Gaming: Tribal Sovereignty and American Politics” served as moderator.

Shelly and Etsitty presented the Navajo Nation’s case for getting into the gaming business and opening the Fire Rock Casino. The Navajo Nation’s high unemployment rate and its need to provide jobs and promote economic development were the focus of their comments.

“We have many mouths to feed,” said Etsitty, who said the Navajo Nation’s population of 330,000 is expected to grow to one million in 30 to 40 years. Responding to audience members’ suggestions to fund particular programs, Etsitty pointed out that some Navajo people still don’t have basic things like running water and paved roads. The gaming industry is an opportunity for the Navajo Nation to address those needs, he said.

Shelly admitted gaming isn’t the entire answer to the Navajo Nation’s economic problems. “It’s just the part of the puzzle to create economic development,” he said. “The main thing is getting jobs for people.”

Questions directed to Shelly and Etsitty dominated most of the forum. They were asked how gaming revenue would be spent, what help would be offered to compulsive gamblers, how financial accountability would be insured, and how tribal sovereignty relates to Indian gaming. As to the Fire Rock Casino, they were asked about the casino’s employment policies, alcohol sales, details about its financing, what agencies were providing fire and law enforcement protection, the casino’s affect on traditional Navajo cultural values, and its impact on social problems in the community.

Peretti, who works as an addictions counselor in Zuni, said he wasn’t there to be an “anti-gambling” voice. Although Peretti admitted he sometimes gambles at casinos, he offered some sobering information about compulsive gamblers. Five to 10 percent of gamblers are compulsive gamblers, he explained, and 50 to 60 percent of gaming revenue comes from their pockets.

The employment and entertainment that casinos provide can be positive, Peretti said, but the “underbelly” of gaming is that it is tied to higher rates of crime, domestic violence, child neglect, and suicide.

As people’s debts increase, he added, they become more desperate. Noting that compulsive gamblers have problems with suicide idealization, Peretti also noted that the Fire Rock Casino is being built near railroad tracks. “I hope the fence is high enough,” Peretti said.

According to Shelly and Etsitty, the $35 million Fire Rock Casino’s current location is just a temporary site. The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise is working with the city of Gallup and McKinley County to find a permanent location to move to within a couple of years, Etsitty said.

Although audience reaction to Shelly and Etsitty’s remarks was polite, several individuals expressed displeasure with the gaming plan. They questioned how the Navajo Nation got into the gaming business after Navajo people voted it down twice in the 1990s, and they questioned the tribe’s commitment to address social problems like gambling addiction, alcoholism, and domestic violence.

They also voiced complaints about the site of the Fire Rock Casino, which is located on the old two-lane Route 66, near the entrance to Rehoboth Christian School. Audience members expressed concern about the safety of the school children, the lack of immediate interstate on and off ramps, and the lack of parking for truckers — normally a big target group for interstate casinos.

As an attorney for the tribe for 13 years, Etsitty voiced his own frustrations about critics of the Navajo Nation’s economic projects. Almost everything the Navajo Nation wants to do — from installing water lines or improving roads to building small corner gas stations or a large power plant — is opposed by people, Etsitty said, often Navajo people. Paraphrasing the saying, “We have seen the enemy and it is us,” Etsitty said the Navajo Nation needs to take risks to further economic development opportunities.

At the end of the forum, after having very few questions directed his way, Peretti joked about being on a panel with a politician and an attorney. But he did get the last word. A truth about casinos is “the house always has an edge,” Peretti said, and a definition of gambling is that it’s “a tax on poor people who are very bad at math.”

Noting that the gambler is a common figure in traditional Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni stories, Peretti pointed out, “In every one of them, people lose.” In contrast, he added, the best way to acquire money is through hard work.