MN Gaming Impact forum...............

MINNEAPOLIS, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- PUBLIC FORUM: Gambling's Impact: Who is it helping, who is it hurting? SPONSORED BY: Minnesotans for Responsible Government, and The Resource Sentinel Public Forum Friday, April 27, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. Room 300S State Office Building 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155 Press Conference Friday, April 27, 10 a.m. Room 181 State Office Building 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155
Minnesotans across the state are being invited to attend a forum on gambling's true social and economic impact, as well as its previously unrecognized threats to national security. Dr. John Kindt, JD, MBA, and one of the country's leading experts will lead the forum on the economic and societal effects of gambling.
Citizens are also being asked to encourage their representatives to participate as well.
Topics Dr. Kindt is prepared to discuss include:
-- What is the real economic impact of gambling?
-- How is legalized gambling affecting crime rates?
-- How does gambling really affect tourism, restaurants, hotels, and small
businesses?
-- Are the games "fair" and to what degree are casinos racketeer
influenced?
-- What effect has the gaming industry had on academic research?
-- How is legalized gambling cheating our children's educational funding
and impacting local property taxes.
Dr. Kindt has spent over 20 years of research on the impact of gambling. He has been recognized for his work in environmental law, international law, and economics.
Dr. Kindt has testified in Congress before the U. S. House of Representatives' Commission on Resources, the House Commission on the Judiciary, and the House Commission on Small Business. He recently presented his findings on gambling's strategic socio-economic threat to national security at the International Business Conference sponsored by Harvard's Business School, Law School, and Kennedy School of Government.
This will be an unusual opportunity to meet Dr. Kindt and to ask him questions about gambling's impacts here in Minnesota and in comparison to other areas of the country.
All academic and articles on gambling are downloadable for free at http://www.citizenlink.org/gamblingresearch
A Legislator, A Mirror, and Truth
David Hoch, founder of Minnesotans for Responsible Government, has a long history of advocacy in Minnesota. It was during his exploration of alternatives for funding a new baseball stadium that he discovered the hidden side of "gaming" in Minnesota. This led to Mr. Hoch being threatened and, eventually, being sued -- all in an attempt to keep Mr. Hoch quiet. Why? Because Mr. Hoch told the truth.
Minnesota remains the only state in America receiving no financial benefit from the compacts that permit Tribal casinos within its borders, while at the same time having no off-reservation casino-style gaming. Only $150,000 per year total from all 19 tribal casinos, considered an offset to state inspections of the casinos, is paid to the state. That comes to a ridiculous $7,894.74 per casino! (And, several Tribes failed to even make these nominal payments to the state). Contrast that amount with Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN -- which by itself pays the state of MN more than $900,000 for state regulation and inspections of its facility. And now, the state wants to tax Canterbury even more. Why?
Minnesota's casino inspection capacity lacks personnel with any technical training; qualification to be a 'casino inspections agent' in Minnesota is limited primarily to prior work as a police officer. All other states with casino gaming employ electrical engineers on their respective staffs, so that they can truly inspect the slot machines. An official with a Las Vegas casino told Mr. Hoch this: 'The casino inspections in Minnesota are a joke. Everyone in Vegas knows Minnesota is totally corrupt when it comes to the casinos".
The State of MN does not track the number of slot machines within its borders, and never re-inspects a machine that has failed inspection. In other words, machines which fail an 'inspection' are allowed to remain in play -- which means thousands of Minnesotans -- your constituents -- are allowed to play slot machines which are in violation of the TRIBAL-STATE COMPACT FOR THE REGULATION OF CLASS III GAMING IN MINNESOTA -- and the State of Minnesota allows it!
Tribes in Minnesota mandate that slot machine manufacturers ship operating software separately from the machines, and directly to, respective Tribal offices. Neither the state nor manufacturer has any idea who installs the software into the machines. There is not another place in the United States where this is allowed to occur. Only in Minnesota.
Indian "gaming" has deep, and growing, roots in Minnesota. Lyle Berman, instrumental in founding Tribal casinos across America and the World Poker Tour, is from Minnesota. Former Congressman Gerry Sikorski, Chairman of Holland & Knight, the largest lobbying firm in Washington DC, lobbies for several Tribes. Tom Heffelfinger, former US Attorney from Minneapolis, now heads up the Native American Law department at Best & Flanagan in Minneapolis. Tadd Johnson from Minnesota was Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission. Chris Georgacas, former head of the Minnesota Republican party, lobbies for several tribes. Dave ('Famous Dave') Anderson (from MN) was Head of the BIA.
The State of Minnesota has an account at the only Tribally-owned bank in Minnesota.
Minnesotans for Responsible Government possesses substantial -- and irrefutable -- documentation showing both the Tribes and the State of Minnesota have repeatedly violated the TRIBAL-STATE COMPACTS.
Stay tuned -- Minnesotans for Responsible Government may have a very big bombshell coming soon!
Paid for by Minnesotans for Responsible Government 1827 Beckman Avenue St. Paul, MN 55112