At stake are yearly profits that have helped improve the quality of life for the 15,000 Cherokee, 8,000 of whom live on the reservation, Frank and Rothacker write. About 3,000 employees work at Harrah's Cherokee and half of all casino profits go to tribal members. In 2012 that amounted to $7,700 per person. "For tribal members younger than age 18, the money is collected and held in trust until they earn a high school diploma or receive an equivalency degree and take a financial management course. Otherwise, the money is not distributed until age 21."
The other half of profits goes to fund "local government operations and services to address persistent problems on the reservation, such as financial illiteracy and diabetes," Frank and Rothacker write. It also includes the new $75 million hospital; a $5 million downtown revitalization initiative, a $13 million affordable housing project and a $20 million justice center. Three years ago, the tribe added a $130 million school for grades kindergarten through 12th grade, with a 3,000-seat arena and a football stadium. In July, the tribe opened a $4.1 million youth center.
That's big business, considering that nationwide revenues for tribal casinos went up just $100 million in 2013, or less than 0.5 percent, to $28 billion Frank and Rothacker write. The difference in North Carolina is location; ambling is illegal in adjoining Tennessee and Georgia, and the casinos are an easy drive from cities like Atlanta, home to many of the big-dollar players.
In response to the Catawbas’ application, the Eastern Band—which has donated more than $1.3 million to candidates, and hosted the state Republican Party convention this year—"filed a formal letter in March to protest the Catawbas’ application, or the first time detailing its opposition to the project on legal grounds and suggesting the proposal is not allowed under state and federal law," Frank and Rothacker write. "In Cherokee, the expansion was made possible by state lawmakers, who allowed the games as part of a new 30-year compact with the tribe."
That has helped stall the Catawbas’ proposed Kings Mountain casino, Frank and Rothacker write. The casino "has drawn strong support from local officials in Cleveland County, who see it as a source of potential jobs in an economically depressed area. But the project has faced a backlash from a bipartisan group of elected officials in the legislature. (Republican Gov. Pat) McCrory’s office said in September that the governor 'remains unconvinced that any new casino proposal is in the best interest of North Carolina'.” (Read more)
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