Legends Casino faces fines over $20.4M payout to tribe members

TOPPENISH, Wash. - The Yakama Nation Legends Casino could be slapped with fines for handing out more than $20 million in casino profits to tribal members without a federally approved plan to do so.

Earlier this week, the National Indian Gaming Commission told the tribe that it was in violation of the Indian Regulatory Act for giving $2,000 to each man, woman and child in the roughly 10,000-member tribe from casino profits in December.

At the time, tribal leaders characterized the one-time payment as stimulus money during a time of economic recession.

Such plans have to be approved by the U.S. Department of Interior. Some tribes, like the Puyallups near Tacoma, have federal approval to give tribal members a share of their casino's profits.

Last fall, the Yakama tribe submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Interior a plan seeking to give tribal members 40 percent of net revenue from the casino, after off-setting the costs of tribal government and social programs.

It's not clear whether the plan included a specific dollar amount or if the roughly $20.4 million distributed to 10,213 tribal members on Dec. 19 was calculated from the plan.

But Department of Interior officials didn't approve the payment plan until February because it wanted the tribe to clarify its definition of a full-time student, according to a violation notice the Indian Gaming Commission sent to the tribe.

The tribe could face up to $25,000 per offense per day.

The amount in fines the tribe faces isn't clear in the violation notice, and tribal and gaming officials did not return phone calls Friday.

Legends Casino revenue has been a point of contention between tribal leaders and members since it began operating more than a decade ago on Fort Road west of Toppenish.

Tribal members have long complained that they aren't given accurate reports on just how much money the casino earns or how it is spent.

Under the Indian Regulatory Act, casino profits are to fund tribal government operations, social programs, education and economic development for the general welfare of the tribe.

* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.

EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the dollar figure in the headline.