Cole calls proposed gaming rule changes 'highly unjust'

During a congressional field hearing on the issue, Cole, R-Moore, said rules proposed to clarify the difference between bingo-based electronic games and Las Vegas-style slot machines would "cripple" economic development by tribes.

This is the first congressional field hearing on the proposed changes to Class II gaming, which have been in the works for five years.

U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, scheduled the hearing, held at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami. It drew about 200 people, mainly tribal representatives and attorneys.

Witnesses included officials from several tribes, the city of Miami and the federal agency that regulates the industry.

Miami and Ottawa County, with 10 Indian gaming locations, stand to be affected by the proposed rules more than virtually any other Oklahoma community.

Both Cole and Boren sit on the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees American Indian matters. They were the only House members present, although others sent staffers.

The issue is especially important in Oklahoma, which had 59 percent of all the tribe-run Class II machines in the country as of December 2006.

Millions of dollars a year are at stake not only for tribes, but also for the state of Oklahoma, which receives a cut from all Class III machines, but nothing from Class II games. That money goes toward teacher pay raises and other education programs.