Lumbee recognition could spawn casino push.

Record Number: 
QUIL001
Citation: 

Quillin, Martha. “Lumbee recognition could spawn casino push.” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) Sunday, May 16, 2004.

Annotation: 

This article looks at the question of casino gambling coming to Robeson County by examining several factors: the present status of the bills for true federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe; the tribal chairperson’s statement in the Senate committee hearing that Lumbee ancestors weren’t thinking about gambling when they first asked for federal recognition 115 years ago, and tribal leaders aren’t now thinking about it in their current federal recognition efforts; the realities of Robeson County’s economic situation; and various takes on the amount of “business” a casino in Robeson County would draw and what contributions it might actually make to the economy.

Here are some points made in the article:

  • More than 40,000 cars travel through Robeson County daily on I-95, which extends from Canada or Maine to Miami.
  • John W. Kindt, a University of Illinois professor who studies gambling, believes that a casino in Robeson County would see more business than the North Carolina Cherokees’ casino. He warns, however, that there are potential drawbacks: regular customers would be people within 35-100 miles of the county, not local residents; 2% of customers would become addicted; once construction of the casino was completed, few jobs would be created because video machines don’t require much staffing; and the casino company, by law, can keep up to 40% of the profits.
  • Greg S. Bryant, a developer, bought a 100-acre tract of land on N.C. 711 at the edge of Pembroke, then sold it to the Lumbee Tribe. He envisions the property as a location for a casino.
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