Back in 2005, the State of South Carolina, bowing to the inevitable, legalized cruise-to-nowhere gambling ships that operate out of Palmetto State ports. Now the Catwaba Indian Nation hopes to leverage that legislation into VLTs for itself. The state says that the law is moot, since the gambling takes place outside state waters. Rejoins tribal attorney Billy Wilkins, “The question is what was authorized, not where it was authorized.” The Catawbas’ case was rejected at the appellate level in 2012, so it’s been pursued to the state Supreme Court.
The tribe is also pursuing a casino across the state line, in North Carolina. Its Supreme Court case rests upon one of Andrew Jackson‘s many broken treaties, whereby the Catawba were permitted two bingo halls and any form gambling legal elsewhere in the state. Hence the current head-butting. The Catawba are offering up $110 million in annual tax money to the state (a 42%) but the latter’s not having any of it.
Steve Wynn is everywhere. At the same time that he’s pursuing a bricks-and-mortar casino near Boston, he’s sniffing around the nascent Internet-casino industry of Atlantic City. Wynn’s Web casino(s) would piggyback off Caesars Interactive software, rendering the question of Wynn’s nonexistent Boardwalk footprint moot.
Gambling opponents sometimes make a good point. Take Stan Cave, 
point man for the Family Foundation. Testifying before Kentucky‘s House Licensing & Occupations Committee, he raised the constitutional dubiousness of passing both and casino-enabling legislation, and rules and regulations in a two-bill gulp. Citizens, he argued, needed to vote on casino legalization before any rulemaking takes place. The bifurcated approach is the one favored by House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark (D), whereby a second bill would specify how many casinos are allowed and how the state would carve up the tax revenues.
Much belabored by spending cuts, Kentucky has ample incentive to vote for casinos, should they come to the ballot. But is that step necessary? Casino opponent State Senate President Robert Stivers doesn’t think so. He tartly noted, “If somebody wants to read through the Constitution and show me where there’s a prohibition against gaming, then we’d better inform Keeneland and Churchill Downs ecause they’ve been gaming for many, many years.” Point taken.
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