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The American Indian tribe known as the Cow Creek Umpqua that operates the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, Oregon has said that it plans to block what it reports as an aggressive attempt by the local Coquille Indian Tribe to construct a new and thusly competing casino in Medford.

Attorney for the Cow Creek Umpqua tribe, Wayne Shammel, said recently that some tribes that are located in Oregon agreed some years ago to limit the number of operating casinos as a way of preventing market oversaturation. According to Shammel, if the Coquille Indian Tribe is allowed to build a new casino in Medford, that action would open the gates to other gambling facilities within the state. At one point, he referred to it as a “casino arms race” should it be allowed to take place. He went on to say that of the Seven Feathers customers that patronage the casino, most are from the Medford area. A new casino in Medford could siphon off many of these customers as the Medford casino would be closer. Shammel went on to say that Medford is the largest urban market for the Seven Feathers Casino and even larger than nearby Eugene, Oregon.

The Coquille tribe already operates a casino in North Bend called The Mill Casino. Recently the Coquille tribe bought property known locally as Kim’s Restaurant and Roxy Ann Lanes which is located along the South Pacific Highway in Medford. They have also said that they have agreed to lease a golf course that is located next to these two properties. Once that happens, they plan to have the property placed into a US government trust which is the first step toward achieving reservation status for the land.

The Cow Creek tribe is claiming that the Coquille tribe has no territorial rights in the Rogue Valley which is where the property exists. They contend that if the Coquille tribe is allowed to expand its territory into Medford, then they (the Cow Creek tribe) may reconsider its own current policy and make a move themselves into this area.

According to a spokesperson for the Cow Creek tribe, this action to open a casino at this location by the Coquille tribe goes against an executive order that was previously signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber. That order created a framework that allowed each tribe within the state to own one casino. Chairman of the Coquille tribe, Edward Metcalf, said that he believe that having more casinos means more people will come into any particular region of the state which he sees as a good business move. He went to say that if the casino is allowed in Medford, it will only provide access to gaming machines. It would not have card tables which are available at the Seven Feathers and at The Mill Casino.

Current federal Indian gaming regulations allow that a Class III casino can have craps, slot machines, roulette, and blackjack. Under the same act, a Class II casino is not allowed that level of gaming and is only allowed to have limited gaming machines. The Mill Casino and the Seven Feathers are both Class III facilities. Edward Metcalf said that the proposed gaming machine facility in Medford would be a Class II facility.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno (along with his advisors) has made it clear to the Massachusetts state gambling commission that he does not want them to slow down plans to build casinos in his town. The commission has asked the mayor to cut proposals for new casinos from four down to one or maybe two. The mayor is saying, No!

In remarks Sarno made to the commission at a recent meeting between the two, he said: “It’s very difficult to say to residents who are hungry to work that you have to wait another six months, a year, 18 months.” The commission has said that it concerned that Sarno is moving too fast and that Sarno’s plans conflict with the commission’s plans which require writing new regulations for the incoming gaming industry. They also said they needed more time to review the various casino proposals that they have received. The state gambling commission controls the state’s three resort casino licenses.

For his part, Sarno and his staff have proposed instituting a speedier process that would allow for faster action in terms of evaluating the current competing proposals. These proposals have come in from Penn National Gaming, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International, and Ameristar. Currently, the city plans to have these proposals presented during the upcoming months with December being the date when Sarno would choose at least one, but perhaps more, to negotiate with.

At that time, any agreements made would have to go before the voters for their approval. This would be accomplished through a referendum which is already planned for next spring.

At issue here is that the town of Springfield had wanted to start its competition earlier this month and planned to do so by asking developers to provide their basic information concerning their various companies as well as information on their individual proposals. More detailed information was scheduled to arrive in October, but, at the request of the state gambling commission, the city delayed the beginning of this process. The commission is worried that the town will select one or more of the proposals before it has time to finish its own investigation which would include looking into each applicant’s moral character of essential employees and company finances. Under current law, any company that does not qualify is not allowed to have a casino license in the state.

The commission said that it will take until sometime in 2013 before it can complete drafting and writing its criteria that will be used to judge each casino proposal. If Springfield moves too quickly, they reason, the town may select a project that does not meet the future criteria that the commission has yet to write.

Springfield officials want to move faster as approval of the projects will bring in work and revenues that the town needs. Slowing the pace will also cause large areas of land within the city to be held in limbo as gambling companies, some of which have already put in options to buy, wait for the commission’s decisions.