Tools

Cherokees-Alcohol – N.C. tribe votes to allow casino alcohol sales

By The Associated Press

Story Published: Jun 10, 2009

Story Updated: Jun 10, 2009

CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) – Alcohol sales at a North Carolina mountain casino have been approved by members of the Cherokee Indian Tribe as a way to boost profits used to run tribal government and pay its members.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians approved alcohol sales by 1,847 to 1,301 Thursday after nearly half the tribe’s registered voters went to polls, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported June 5.

The vote was only about alcohol sales at the casino.

Supporters of alcohol sales said it would boost profits at the tribe’s casino. The tribe uses half the profits from the 11-year-old casino to run its government and half for twice-a-year payments to tribal members.

The first of this year’s payments to the tribe’s members were sent June 8 and were down 12 percent. This year the checks were for $3,892. Last year, they were $4,473.

In January, the casino had its first layoffs since it opened. About 100 jobs were cut as the sagging economy reduced visitors 15 percent.

Normal visitation at the casino is about 3.5 million people a year.

The Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise board officials, who run the casino business for the tribe, had sought the vote and said annual checks to tribe members would double in six years if alcohol was available.

It was the second alcohol sales vote, but the first since the casino was constructed. Tribal members voted 2-1 against alcohol sales in 1980.

“We got to have (alcohol) in order to keep it going,” said tribe member Loretta Crowe. “It is necessary. They have got to have it to survive.”

But a minister’s wife said she worried about the effect alcohol sales could have on the community.

“I believe it will bring more abuses to our reservation,” said Donna Morgan, whose husband is a pastor at Rocksprings Baptist Church. “Not just alcohol abuse, but physical abuse also.”

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

You have indicated this comment should be removed.

Close

The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .

martina said on Sunday, Jun 28 at 1:29 PM

I love to play in casino games; especially online. My favorite is the golden casino which offers just about any casino game that you could possibly be looking for, including some of the most mind-blowing superslots casino games and casino slots games on the internet.

25094164
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Wise One said on Tuesday, Jun 16 at 1:38 PM

The manager of the Casino should be replaced if this is the best approach possible to increase revenue. The down side is now the tribal government has to increase its budget for police and social programs necessary to maintain the costs of deviance.

23905229
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

IsaY. said on Sunday, Jun 14 at 11:18 AM

Yonaguska would be very sad. I am sad.

23746627
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

By posting a comment, user agrees to all Terms Of Use. Comments may also appear in other website locations and in other Indian Country Today products, without notice and at the discretion of Indian Country Today.

Indian Country Today and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

On Demand