Nicotine Nazis Must Be Having A Fit

The rights given to the org running the indian casino is just another example where the laws of the country do not apply to indians, especially the ones in Alberta. Giving them special rights when it comes to tapping government funds is bad enough but giving them exemption from the agenda of the nicotine nazis will come back to bite the Alberta government in the ass.

Natives get upper hand, say casinos

Kevin Libin
National Post

Monday, November 27, 2006

Fake pirate ship battles, Egyptian pyramids and medieval jousting may thrill them on the Vegas strip. But Edmonton's dream casino? It has to be all about the hockey.

The city's newest gambling refuge already has two NHL-sized ice rinks, overlooked by a sports bar with dozens of brands of beer on tap. Next year, general manager Brian Lee hopes to break ground on two more.

The River Cree Casino and Resort, Alberta's first native casino, already has a four-star hotel and plans for a "high-end" retail complex -- all conveniently located just west of the city limits, 10 minutes from West Edmonton Mall.

Or inconveniently, if you run that mall.

Gary Hanson, the general manager and chief operating officer of Canada's largest shopping centre, has a casino, too.

He also has a hotel. Even an ice rink. And retail stores, of course.

What he does not have is a special arrangement with the province allowing him to spend casino revenues on tourist amenities. None of the other casinos or hotels in Alberta do either, except the River Cree.

That has some Alberta hospitality operators furious, claiming the province has created a fierce competitor for them with a gaming licence so advantageous that it might as well be a licence to print money.

"Casinos in the rest of the province of Alberta do not have access to this fund," says Howard Worrell, vice-president of Alberta operations for Gateway Casinos. "No other hotel in the province of Alberta, no other hockey rinks in the province of Alberta has access to it -- or any similar fund."

Local casino owners are already cranky about losing gamblers who enjoy a cigarette with their slots: On the Enoch reserve, home of River Cree, where the region's smoking laws don't apply, 30% of the gaming floor is reserved for smokers.

"At our place, if you want to smoke today, and it's 20 below, you have to go outside," says Barry Pritchard, senior vice-president of Casino ABS, which runs Edmonton's Casino Yellowhead.

Screw you white man.........

And adding insult to injury we have BC premier wanting to extend special privilege status.......