Some people in Congress believe American Indians struck it rich with the establishment of tribal gaming and the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in the late 1980s. But serious problems with education, health care, unemployment and housing remain. Tribes are also dealing with the effect of Internet gaming on their business, off-reservation casinos and political gridlock in Washington, D.C. “They’ve been very busy in Washington this year,” John Gusik, founding partner of the Franklin Partnership, a Washington, D.C., law and government relations services firm, said Thursday at the Global Gaming Expo. He was moderating a panel discussion on…

A federal appeals court has ruled that the tribal slot machines leased by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut from non-tribal businesses can be taxed. The ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on July 15 reversed a decision by a federal district court judge that said states and their subdivisions cannot tax property on Indian land regardless of who owns it. The Nation has the option of asking for a rehearing or filing a petition with the United States Supreme Court to review the appeals court ruling about the tribal slot machines tax, but no such decision has…

Professional poker player Phil Ivey is set to be the front man for a joint venture between the Pala Band of Mission Indians and former bwin.party CEO Jim Ryan, PokerFuse PRO has learned. The new entity, Pala Interactive, plans to offer online poker and casino games in California upon regulation within the state. And though the deal is currently limited to potential offerings in California, the agreement could be extended beyond the state at a later date. Pala Interactive is slated to use software provided by Realtime Edge Software (RTE), a company that lists bwin.party, GTECH, RocketFrog and ClubWPT among…

A judge has taken the unusual step of ordering a sheriff to take money from an Indian casino till to pay a $725,000 settlement reached between the tribe and a former casino manager, a newspaper reported. Madera County Sheriff John Anderson has until the end of November to carry out county Judge Michael Jurkovich’s ruling against the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians — owners of the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino in the Sierra foothills near Yosemite National Park, according to The Fresno Bee. The newspaper reported over the weekend that a leadership dispute at the tribe has resulted…