Guv orders state police to block access to bingo parlor

Gov. Bill Richardson has ordered the state police to block access to a planned “illegal casino” that an Oklahoma tribe is planning to open between Las Cruces and Deming.

Richardson took the action against the Fort Sill Apache’s facility at Akela Flats, according to a news release, after receiving no assurance from the federal government that it would act on the tribe’s plans.

The action comes after the state learned the facility could open for business as soon as Thursday.

“We have emphatically stated our opposition to what clearly would be an illegal gaming operation in the State of New Mexico,” Richardson said. “Because the federal government is abdicating its responsibility, I have no choice but to take immediate and forceful action to protect the citizens of New Mexico and the integrity of our gaming laws.”

The tribe plans to open a bingo parlor on land that was taken into federal trust in 2002 with the condition that it was not to be used for gaming. State police will block members of the public from entering the facility but not tribal members and employees.

Richardson has worked with U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici to try, without success, to get the U.S. Department of the Interior to act to prevent opening of the casino. Bingaman, who wrote to the interior secretary in January urging action, is supportive of the governor’s order to the state police.

“The position of the state of New Mexico has been clear from the start: This land was not to be used for gaming,” Bingaman said in a statement released by his office. “When the land was taken into trust status, it was taken in with that limitation. I know of no reason why that should be overridden.”

Richardson said the National Indian Gaming Commission sent a letter to him on Feb. 8 seeking input on the planned bingo parlor. The governor’s office responded on Feb. 15 that the state opposed the proposal, saying the tribe has failed to meet any of the exceptions that allow an off-reservation casino.

But the federal government has taken no action since.