Friday, December 02, 2011

Bingaman restates opposition to Fort Sill gaming

The Fort Sill Apache are gearing up for another round in their long-running fight to open a casino in southern New Mexico. The tribe last week was granted a 30-acre reservation near Deming -- the first new reservation in the state in decades. With that status, tribal chairman Jeff Houser says the tribe is again is looking at a casino. But it could be tough fight. U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman on Thursday sent Interior Secretary Ken Salazar a letter outlining what he says is long-standing opposition to gaming by the tribe. Houser says he is hoping to reverse some of that opposition now that the tribe has official status in New Mexico. Deming Chamber of Commerce executive director Mary Galbraith said many in Luna County -- which has a 19% unemployment rate -- are excited about the prospect of a casino and the jobs it would create. AP

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