The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals last week sided with the state of New Mexico and against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Pojoaque Pueblo in a case where the government wanted to force a gaming compact on the state government.
It essentially forces the tribe to return to the negotiating table with the administration of Governor Susana Martinez.
The tribe has been operating the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino near Santa Fe and the Cities of Gold casino without a compact since June 2015 when the previous compact expired.
The appeals court in a 58-page ruling unanimously upheld a ruling by a U.S. District judge in February that prevented the Interior Department from siding with the tribe over Governor Martinez over what percentage of casino revenue the tribe would have to pay to the state. The appeals court also upheld the Martinez administration’s actions against vendors that do business with the casino as a way the tribe continues to operate without a compact.
The tribe continues to balk at dealing with the state because it opposes the revenue sharing requirement, which it insists is an illegal tax.
The tribe said it is still studying whether to appeal. Originally the tribe brought in the Interior department after it accused the state of negotiating in bad faith. Federal law says the department can force a gaming compact on a state under some circumstances.
A spokesman for the governor, Michael Lonergan, reacting to the ruling, wrote: “We hope the Court of Appeals decision will bring this issue to a close. As we’ve said all along, we’re simply asking for Pojoaque to play by the same rules as other New Mexico tribes.”
The state would collect $6 million more annually from the tribe if it is forced to adopt the same compact that the state’s other tribes operate under.
The state’s ability to pressure vendors not to do business with the casino has forced the pueblo to shut down some of its slot machines. Tribal officials admit that this has caused “a very painful hit,” to casino operations.
