U.S. District Court Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill recently denied the state of Idaho’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop poker at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley. In his ruling, Winmill wrote: “For now, the Court will stay the lawsuit because the parties are within the 60-day period in which the Compact unambiguously prohibits the state from filing this lawsuit.”
At issue is the state’s lawsuit against the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, filed on May 2, the same day the tribe officially began offering Texas Hold ‘Em style poker tournaments at its casino. Winmill noted alleged compact violations require binding arbitration, unless the parties agree to a different method of resolution. Instead, he wrote, the state “raced” to the courthouse. He added if the parties enter arbitration, the state cannot sue the tribe in federal court.
Tribal attorney Eric Van Orden said, “The court agreed with our interpretation of the gaming compact and reinforced what we’ve been saying all along, that the state jumped the gun and violated the provisions of our agreement when it raced to the courthouse with this unnecessary lawsuit. We believe we have a legal right to offer poker. We’re pleased with the court’s initial ruling and we hope the state will try to approach these types of issues in a more productive manner moving forward.” In addition, the tribe argued Texas Hold ’em is not illegal gambling but a legal contest of skill that requires players to compete against each other, with no house bank involved.
In a statement, Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter said, “The State of Idaho remains committed to enforcing the rule of law that limits gambling in tribal casinos to clearly approved games, and poker isn’t one of them.”
The state and the tribe have until July 7 to file a report to the court on the status of solving the issue.
