\nSANTA FE, N.M. (AP) \u2013 A legislative panel recommended Wednesday that the New Mexico Legislature approve a proposed gambling compact that would allow the Navajo Nation to open three additional casinos.<\/p>\n
\tThe Committee on Compacts voted 12-4 to forward the gambling agreement to the House and Senate for a vote.<\/p>\n
\tThe proposal needs approval of the Legislature and the U.S. Interior Department to take effect.<\/p>\n
\tNavajo leaders said after the meeting that they\u2019re confident lawmakers will endorse the compact despite opposition from other tribes and pueblos who worry that more casinos will dilute their share of a saturated gambling market.<\/p>\n
\tThree dozen Navajo casino workers attended the hearing, and Navajo President Ben Shelly said more workers would come to the Capitol as a show of support when the House and Senate debate the compact later this session.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s a wakeup call for the Navajo people to get involved in their government,\u201d Shelly told reporters.<\/p>\n
\tThe Navajos operate two Las Vegas-style casinos in New Mexico under a compact expiring next year and a third casino offers low-stakes gambling not subject to state regulation.<\/p>\n
\tAcoma and Laguna pueblos have expressed concerns that the Navajos could open a casino on tribal lands near Albuquerque, competing with the smaller tribes for gamblers coming from the state\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n
\tThe latest proposal would run through June 2037, and permit the Navajos to operate up to five casinos. Any new casinos must be phased in over 15 years. However, Navajo officials have said there are no definite plans for opening more casinos.<\/p>\n
\tThere\u2019s no limit on the number of casinos under the current compact with the Navajos and four other tribes \u2013 the Mescalero and Jicarilla Apaches as well as Acoma and Pojoaque pueblos.<\/p>\n
\tNine other New Mexico tribes have different compacts with the state, approved in 2007, and they each can operate two casinos.<\/p>\n
\tNew Mexico received about $71 million from tribal casinos last year. Tribal payments generally are based on slot-machine proceeds from wagering after a deduction for how much gamblers win.<\/p>\n
\tThe latest compact calls for the Navajos to make payments under the same terms as tribes covered by the 2007 agreements with the state. Those rates are higher than what the Navajos currently pay.<\/p>\n
\tOther tribes have expressed concern that the Navajo compact will become the model for the state in negotiating new agreements in the future. Pojoaque Pueblo wants lower revenue sharing rates and other tribes object to a current prohibition on serving liquor to customers in gambling areas.<\/p>\n
\tBut Navajo officials and their supporters maintain there is nothing to stop other tribes from negotiating separate agreements with the Martinez administration.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cNo compact is going to be perfect for everybody,\u201d said Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup.<\/p>\n
\tShelly urged other tribes to drop their opposition to the Navajo compact. He said disagreements among the tribes over gambling agreements \u201csends a wrong message to the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI am asking all the tribes to stay united like we have done in the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tVoting against the compact approval recommendation were Sens. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales and Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants; and Reps. Larry Larranaga, R-Albuquerque, and Georgene Louis, D-Albuquerque.<\/p>\n
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