Amendment Q Could Have Impact On Local Casinos

PICKSTOWN — The Fort Randall Casino could gain a big payout if South Dakota’s voters pass a measure on next week’s ballot.
The state’s voters are deciding Amendment Q, authorizing the Legislature to allow roulette, keno and craps in Deadwood. Currently, state law allows slot machines and limited card games.
However, the amendment’s impact would be felt far beyond the Black Hills community. The authorization would also cover tribal casinos across the state, such as Fort Randall Casino near Pickstown. The Yankton Sioux Tribe owns and operates the casino near the Missouri River.
“Generally, Fort Randall Casino and other tribal casinos in South Dakota can offer whatever type of gaming is legal in Deadwood,” said Larry Eliason, the executive secretary of the South Dakota Commission on Gaming.
In this case, Amendment Q would also cover tribal casinos, Eliason said.
“If the amendment passes in November and the Legislature approves those games for play in Deadwood, then games could be played in tribal casinos,” he said. “Most compacts have language that authorizes new games if those games are approved under state law for play in Deadwood.”
If the measure passes in Tuesday’s election, it still faces other requirements before going into effect, Eliason said.
“The entire matter would need to go to the Legislature next session,” he said. “The general types of games would need approval from the Legislature. A game would need to be approved for play in Deadwood before it could legally be played at a tribal casino.”
Eliason doesn’t anticipate the expanded gaming would start play before next summer.
“If the games are approved for Deadwood in the 2015 Legislature, the effective date would probably be July 1,” he said.
“If approved for Deadwood and the compacts, it will still be a decision by each tribal casino to offer the games at those properties.”
The Grand Falls Casino in Iowa has craps and roulette, and the same games are allowed in Wyoming, North Dakota and Colorado.
Fort Randall Casino manager Joseph Marinan didn’t respond by deadline to the Press & Dakotan’s request for comment.
The casino has exerted an economic impact since opening in 1991. Tribal and casino officials have said the operation represents the largest employer in Charles Mix County. At one time, the casino employed more than 300 employees, with more than 100 non-Native employees.
After 20 years, about 10 percent of the employees had worked at the casino during its entire existence, according to one official.
Casino and tribal officials have acknowledged the gaming scene has changed greatly since Fort Randall opened nearly a quarter-century ago. Regardless of the outcome on Amendment Q, Fort Randall is dealing with an increasingly competitive environment.
When it first opened, the casino drew heavily on Nebraskans as the Husker State had much greater restrictions on gaming. The landscape changed when Ohiya Casino was opened by the Santee Sioux Tribe across the border in Knox County, Neb. Through the years, the operation has expanded and recently moved into a new multi-million dollar facility.
The new Ohiya Casino includes not only gaming but also a lounge and dining facilities, entertainment venue, hotel and swimming pool. In addition, the casino is moving forward with a new golf course.
The entertainment scene has also changed greatly with the addition of Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort near Larchwood, Iowa, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City. The Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls and the Deadwood Mountain Grand hotel, casino and event center have also fired up the competition for entertainment dollars.
In response, Fort Randall Casino has built an expanded gaming area with a new gift shop, cashiers’ windows, Players Club site and customer service area. The remodeling includes buffalo mural artwork created by Dakota Sioux artist Joanne Bird. The mural can be viewed upon entering the new casino area.
The Fort Randall Casino expansion represents a success story, then-South Dakota Tribal Relations Secretary J.R. LaPlante told the Press & Dakotan.
“It just goes to show how seriously they take their economic development effort,” he said at the time. “They are very committed to creating jobs and (building) the economy in that area surrounding them.”
Now, the possible next step in Fort Randall Casino’s future will be decided next week at the ballot box.
In that regard, the battle lines have been drawn on both sides of the Amendment Q debate.
Proponents argue the expanded gaming is needed to meet the increasing competition across the nation, according to Mike Rodman, executive director of the Deadwood Gaming Association.
Visitors are asking for the additional games, Rodman said.
“As several surrounding states have added roulette, keno and craps to the gaming choices available to their customers, the popularity of these additional games has Deadwood and Tribal visitors increasingly asking for the opportunity to play them here,” he said.
Amendment Q would provide that opportunity, Rodman said.
“As with any other successful business enterprise, South Dakota’s gaming operations must diversify and meet changing customer demands in order to compete with the gaming offered by surrounding states,” he said.
However, opponents warn of the moral, social and economic problems that could arise from expanded gambling in South Dakota. They cite the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) estimates that around 18,000 South Dakotans are gambling addicts whose addictions create an annual cost of $16 million for the state.
One addict affects 8-10 other people because of the addiction, the NCPG said. In addition, one in five problem gamblers will attempt suicide, about twice the suicide rate of other addictions.
For that reason, Amendment Q should be rejected, said Dale Bartscher, executive director of the Family Heritage Alliance Action in Rapid City.
“In most cases, the free market should be the primary regulator of business,” he said. “In the case of an industry that generates so much addiction, societal ills, crime and even suicide, the gambling industry should be subject to legal restraints.”