Cowlitz casino partner hits tough times

When Clark County commissioners signed the now-invalid 2004 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Cowlitz Tribe, they did not know a casino was in the works, although one suspected it.

They did not know the tribe would apply to make 152 acres of Clark County into a reservation and restored lands—taking away local control of land use and removing it from the tax rolls.

And they certainly did not anticipate that a wealthy East Coast tribe—owner of the second-largest casino in the country—would parachute in and throw its massive financial and legal muscle behind the Cowlitz Tribe’s goals, which mushroomed into a proposal to build the largest casino on the West Coast.

What the Cowlitz Tribe failed to anticipate is that its not-at-all-silent partner, the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, would fall on tough times: Earnings at its behemoth Connecticut casino were down 23.2 percent last quarter from the same quarter a year earlier,[1] Moody’s is threatening to downgrade its bonds, and some of their business partners have served them poorly.

With the chief financer of the Cowlitz casino under siege, the old MOU defunct, the EIS incomplete, and local governments—and public opinion—lining up against the project, there is no reason for the county to rush into a new MOU that would signal its tacit approval of a Clark County casino.

An article in the March 24 issue of Forbes, titled “With Friends Like These,” examines several of the Mohegan Tribe’s recent travails, caused largely by poor choices in business partners. (We would argue that the reporters overlooked at least one.) The subtitle is, “The Mohegan tribe wants to expand its casinos nationally. Maybe it shoulda stayed home.”

We agree.

Lynch urges county casino resolution

CARS Chairman Ed Lynch today asked the Clark County Commission to approve a resolution opposing an Indian casino in Clark County. Lynch asked the three commissioners, Betty Sue Morris, Marc Boldt and Steve Stuart, to join officials from five other elected bodies in Clark County who have already voted to oppose the casino proposed by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe at the La Center I-5 junction.

For the first time, Morris and Stuart this year stated their opposition the casino in Clark County -- Morris in her recent "state of the county" address and Stuart in a Jan. 29 Columbian opinion piece. Boldt has registered his opposition to a casino many times before.

In an accompanying letter, Lynch asked for a resolution to be signed so county constituents "can be certain you agree that a casino as proposed by the Cowlitz Tribe has no place here."

A resolution would place the three on record opposing the casino as they prepare for hearings prior to negotiating a new Memorandum of Understanding with the tribal developers. Hearings dates have been set for: 6 p.m. April 7 at the La Center Commons, 4:15 p.m. April 10 at Maple Grove Elementary School and 10 a.m. April 15 at the Clark County Services Building.

If you would like to share your thoughts with the commissioners, you can reach them at (360) 397-2232, or:

bettysue.morris@clark.wa.gov
marc.boldt@clark.wa.gov
steve.stuart@clark.wa.gov