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[pct-l] new casino in Cascade Locks



This should add an interesting diversion. Last time I was in Cascade Locks,
the No. 1 thru-hiker sport was ... eating. At the Charburger.

>BC-WST--Columbia Gorge Casino, Bjt,380
>Agreement reached to build casino in Columbia River Gorge
>AP Photo ORDR801
>By BRAD CAIN
>Associated Press Writer
>
>
>    SALEM, Ore. (AP) ... The Confederated Tribes of Warm
>Springs and Gov. Ted Kulongoski have reached agreement on a
>casino the tribe plans to build in a small town in the scenic
>Columbia River Gorge, a spokesman for the tribe said Tuesday.
>
>   Len Bergstein said the governor and tribal representatives
>are scheduled to sign the formal agreement during a ceremony
>Wednesday in Cascade Locks, a financially struggling town
>where the casino is to be built.
>
>   ""There is essential agreement between the negotiators for
>the state and for Warm Springs to build the casino,''
>Bergstein said.
>
>   The negotiated agreement calls for Warm Springs to give a
>portion of the casino's revenue to the state, Bergstein said.
>He declined to say how much.
>
>   Mary Ellen Glynn, a spokeswoman for the governor, declined
>to discuss the agreement. She said representatives of
>Kulongoski's office and the tribe were to meet later Tuesday
>at the Capitol to go through details of the agreement.
>
>   Located about 40 miles east of Portland, the Cascade Locks
>casino is expected to be a big moneymaker for the tribe.
>Tribal leaders have estimated that the new casino will draw 3
>million patrons yearly.
>
>   Kulongoski's predecessor, Gov. John Kitzhaber, had turned
>down the project in 1999 because he opposed off-reservation
>casinos.
>
>   The new casino's location also has drawn criticism from
>the group Friends of the Columbia River Gorge and other
>conservationists who are concerned about increased traffic
>and air pollution.
>
>   Bergstein said the agreement calls on Warms Springs to use
>some of the casino's profits to enhance environmental
>protection in the gorge, but he declined to offer specifics.
>
>   Many residents in the small town of Cascade Locks say they
>are eager for the casino to come to town, and for the jobs
>and tourists that it could bring.
>
>   The agreement will require that the tribes' existing
>on-reservation casino, Kah-Nee-Ta, no longer operate as a
>casino after the Cascade Locks facility opens.
>
>   In pushing for the Cascade Locks casino, the Warm Springs
>tribes said they they needed a larger casino to bring down
>the high unemployment rates on the reservation.
>
>   AP-WS-04-05-05 1733EDT