First article in the AZ Republic which weighs the evidence and favors the arguments for a casino in Glendale. Perhaps the worm has turned.
Giblin & McGlade clearly present the crux of the matter: does the current AZ Gaming compact implicitly limit the number of casinos in the Phoenix metro area? This is the last remaining argument worthy of judicial interpretation, and the presiding judge seems to find this line of reasoning specious.
Washington attorney Jason Hauter, a member of the Gila River tribe who has been involved in the case, said the proposition and the compact clearly limit the number of tribal casinos.
However, the Tohono O’odhams state in court filings that the compact lacks specific language that prohibits the tribe from building a Phoenix-area casino.
During a June 2011 hearing, Campbell (the presiding judge) alluded to that point, asking Gila River attorney James Tuite whether it would have been easy to include in the contract that no new casinos would be built in Phoenix.Tuite said that it would have been but that there were good reasons to think that the parties didn’t feel the need to spell it out.
Campbell responded: (emphasis mine)
Well, that’s a pretty surprising idea, in my mind, for parties who are represented by lawyers and who are negotiating a contract that will become a compact that has an integration clause that says, No other understandings or agreements not in writing will be enforceable. For somebody with that kind of a clause going into the compact, saying this other understanding is so fundamental that we don’t have to say it just didn’t make any sense to me.
If this next court ruling goes for the tribe one more time, perhaps the new city leaders of Glendale under Mayor Weirs will take the practical road and end their opposition to this west side resort. We shall see. Last week Gila River Reservation offered Glendale a $0.5 million bribe to continue the good fight. Will Glendale get cold feet? Only time will tell.
Tags: big business, greed, Indian Gaming, lobbyist influence, obstruction, public opinion