Fort Sill Apaches cease bingo at New Mexico casino
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Published: October 5, 2009
DEMING, N.M. (AP) — The Fort Sill Apache Tribe has stopped offering paper bingo games at its southern New Mexico casino in an arrangement with the federal government, tribal Chairman Jeff Houser said.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ordered the Oklahoma tribe in July to stop bingo at the site between Deming and Las Cruces, threatening daily fines of $25,000 for violations.
The tribe, which began bingo games in April, offered them Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until Sept. 17, when operations ceased.
Houser said the commission agreed to hold off fining the tribe if it stopped bingo pending the outcome of the tribe's appeal of the violation notice to the commission.
"I'm happy they did that and am looking forward to getting a fair hearing," he said.
The tribe's appeal is pending. Houser said it could be resolved as early as December, but the timing is up to the commission.
Casino manager Gary Meyers said the games probably averaged 50 to 60 people.
None of the roughly 20 casino employees lost their jobs when bingo operations stopped. Houser said some employees voluntarily reduced hours so the tribe didn't have to lay off anyone.
The notice spells out exceptions and conditions the tribe would have to meet under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to continue gaming. The commission said the Fort Sill Apaches met none of them.
In July, the tribe filed a motion in federal court in Oklahoma City to force the commission to recognize the tribe has a legal basis to operate a southern New Mexico casino.
Houser said the motion was aimed at forcing the commission to recognize the terms of a 2007 settlement the tribe believes gives it a legal basis for gaming.
In 1998, the tribe purchased land near Deming, and the U.S. government placed the property into trust for the tribe a few years later.
Members of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe are descended from the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apaches, who lived in parts of New Mexico, Arizona and northern Mexico. They were removed from the area in the 1880s and sent first to Florida, then Oklahoma.
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On the Net:
National Indian Gaming Commission: http://www.nigc.gov
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