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Approximately 17,000 gaming employees lived in the Gulf Coast region before Hurricane Katrina; American Gaming Association president Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. estimated 10,000 may have lost their homes. So at this year's annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, canisters were set out to collect donations to help workers affected just two weeks before by Katrina. During keynote addresses and seminars, attendees were also asked to help.
Indian Country Today reported the gaming industry raised more than $500,000 to help Katrina survivors. But how much of that money will go to American Indian casinos remains uncertain, and the needs of smaller gaming halls often conflict with those of larger establishments that employ fewer American Indians.
Mixed Outlook for American Indian Gaming
Hurricane Katrina was just the latest in a series of setbacks for the industry. Though American Indian gambling revenues totaled about $19 billion in 2004, up 12 percent from 2003, the growth rate has slowed, according to a report by consulting firm Analysis Group. Louisiana and Mississippi were among the states suffering revenue declines last year.
Fortunately, most tribes in the Gulf states survived Katrina with minimal damage, according to the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA). However, many were affected by power outages and other storm aftereffects.
Some American Indian casinos looked out for each other. For example, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, owned by the Pequot tribe of Mashantucket, hired a family of homeless blackjack dealers. A few miles away, Mohegan Sun ran a recruitment ad in USA Today seeking qualified dealers, slot machine attendants and other gaming professionals to fill 100 open positions. Both casinos contacted gaming commissions in Louisiana and Mississippi, seeking workers displaced by the hurricane.
Some Casinos Benefit
A few American Indian casinos have prospered. Revenue at the Poarch Creek Indian Bingo Palace in Altmore, Alabama, almost doubled through late October, says chief financial officer Arthur Mothershed in a Pensacola News-Journal article, when visitors surged from about 600 a day pre-storm to 1,500 a day. The casino now employs 160 people, some of whom were hired after Katrina to handle the increased business.
The Pensacola News-Journal also reported that some former Mississippi and New Orleans casino workers have sought employment at Altmore and the tribe's two other sites, and some part-time employees now work full-time. Plans are underway to expand the Poarch Creek entertainment complex to include a conference center, hotel, new casino and parking garages. When the project is completed in 18 months, Mothershed expects to add 800 employees.
Most Gaming Employees Are Not American Indians
American Indian casinos continue to provide both good and bad news for tribes across the country -- economically, socially and in terms of employment. There are now more than 400 casinos in 28 states. Concentrated in the upper Midwest and Southwest US, most are small. At least 60, however, are large, glitzy establishments like Foxwoods. With 16 restaurants, two hotels and more than 20,000 square feet of gambling space, the casino is considered the nation's largest and most profitable.
However, the vast majority of Foxwoods employees are non-American Indians. They have to be: According to NIGA, the Mashantucket Pequots count only 350 tribal members but employ more than 11,000 people at Foxwoods. In Minnesota, 75 percent of the 10,000 American Indian casino employees are not American Indians. In Wisconsin, that figure is 44 percent. In fact, NIGA says in 2004, tribal gambling created 553,000 jobs directly or indirectly -- and most went to non-American Indians.
Increased Competition on the Gulf Coast
Legislation signed in mid-October by Mississippi governor Haley Barbour allows floating casinos destroyed by Katrina to be rebuilt up to 800 feet inland. Experts predict this will result in major changes in the tourism industry. Gambling giants may invest millions of dollars to build megaresorts with more entertainment, shopping and dining areas. Those coastal and now inland gambling casinos could take business from the smaller gaming halls on American Indian reservations nearby.
The good news: In mid-October, New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin abandoned his idea for a Las Vegas-style casino district downtown, citing negative reaction from state officials. For a while, at least, the region's American Indian establishments breathed a sigh of relief.