EL PASO, Texas, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Tigua Indians were cheered Wednesday by news that their Speaking Rock Casino will not have to close Friday as ordered in September by a federal judge.
The popular casino east of downtown El Paso produces $50-$60 million in annual revenue for the tribe, which helps pay for education, health and housing programs. The casino is a major economic engine in El Paso, providing jobs for about 800 workers.
Many tribal members worried the casino would be closed Friday as ordered by U.S District Judge Thomas Eisele following a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, but late Tuesday the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals lifted the judge's order and scheduled a full hearing Jan. 9.
Tribal leaders were pleased with the news that the court would give them a chance to make their arguments in a full hearing, spokesman Marc Schwartz said Wednesday in El Paso.
"They felt very firm on the issue of sovereignty with respect to the attorney general attempting to reclassify a Native American tribe as an association," he said. "They felt that was one of the issues the court would look hard at and not something that could be done on a cursory review."
In a lawsuit filed in 1999, Cornyn sought to halt gambling at the Speaking Rock Casino, arguing that the Tiguas agreed in 1987 not to permit gambling on their land in exchange for federal recognition. The Tiquas say there never was such an agreement.
The Tiguas argue that the 1987 Federal Restoration Act prohibited only those games that were banned by the state at the time. Since then, Texas has authorized parimutuel gambling and a state lottery, which the tribe now says opened the legal door for their casino.
Cornyn has characterized the tribe as an association, like a club, in his arguments that the gambing is illegal under state law.
The Alabama-Coushatta tribe in southeast Texas just last week announced plans to open a gambling casino, further challenging Cornyn's interpretation of the law. That casino, which opened last weekend, is located only 90 miles north of Houston's 2 million residents.
Tigua leaders have accused Cornyn, a Republican Senate candidate, of political motives in trying to shut down gaming on Indian lands, a charge the attorney general has denied. In a recent visit to El Paso, a group of protesters gathered outside the hotel where he spoke.
Jane Shepperd, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, said Cornyn respects the appeals court action Tuesday and its willingness to expedite the hearing. She said the office is considering legal strategy to respond to the new casino on the Alabama-Coushatta lands.
