Buffalo Thunder casino turns off slots amid compact dispute

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, some slots have been turned off at Buffalo Thunder, and some specialty table games have been shut down because the companies that own the slots and games fear they could face heavy fines from the state Gaming Control Board. That’s because the pueblo is operating the casino without a gambling compact with the state, as required by federal law, Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Joe Talachy confirmed in an interview.

Dealers in the poker room also cannot use the card-shuffling machines, Talachy said.

Pojoaque Pueblo’s gambling compact with the state expired in June 2015, and a new agreement hasn’t been reached largely because of a dispute between the tribe and administration over the pueblo continuing to share casino revenues with the state, as other New Mexico tribes with gambling do. Pojoaque Pueblo calls the revenue-sharing an illegal tax.

The more than 30 slot machines taken off line at Buffalo Thunder represent only a small fraction of the casino’s total machines, reported on its website to be more than 1,200. Most table games also continue to operate.

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Nevertheless, Talachy said the loss of the machines and games is a very painful hit to the casino’s revenues. We’re stuck between a rock and hard place, he said

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The shutdowns represent the first casualties in a battle between the Martinez administration and the tribe that could have larger implications for the future of Indian gaming in New Mexico and elsewhere, should Pojoaque Pueblo prevail in its position that it should not have to share casino revenues with the state.

Last month, a U.S. District Court judge in Albuquerque cleared the way for the Gaming Control Board to take action against companies that supply gaming devices to the pueblo’s two casinos, a sports bar and gas stations. The board has threatened to not renew the companies’ licenses.

Talachy said the tribe obtained an order from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver that puts the judge’s ruling on hold pending appeal, but Talachy said gaming device vendors who fear action from the Gaming Control Board asked that their equipment be shut down.

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The damage was already done with the Gaming Control Board, which threatened them with pretty heavy fines, the governor said. We’re in a squeeze

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The Martinez administration says Pojoaque’s gambling operations are unlawful because the pueblo doesn’t have a compact with the state mandated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The pueblo has accused the Martinez administration of negotiating in bad faith and has asked the secretary of the U.S. Interior Department to approve procedures for casino gambling. A U.S. District Court judge in Albuquerque blocked the Interior Department from taking such action, but that ruling is now on appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A ruling in favor of the pueblo could jeopardize the state’s revenue-sharing agreements with other tribes with casinos, which limit the amount of off-reservation casino gambling.

“We’re fighting for every other tribe in this country,” Talachy said.

The governor said the pueblo has been in recent negotiations with the state, but he declined to provide details.

Former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez, who resigned Friday at the request of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, had allowed Pojoaque Pueblo to continue to offer casino gambling while the compact case was on appeal. Under the deal, the pueblo is required to put into escrow revenues that would have been shared with the state had a compact been reached. Martinez is no relation to the state governor.

The state and Pojoaque Pueblo have long had a rocky relationship over gambling on the reservation. The pueblo openly operated a casino in violation of federal law prior to it and other tribes signing their first gambling compacts with the state in 1995.

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A decision by the Gaming Control Board to not renew or revoke the license of a vendor for supplying gaming devices to Pojoaque Pueblo also could threaten the vendor’s license and business in other jurisdictions. That’s because some gambling authorities around the country pull or deny licenses based upon adverse licensing actions in other jurisdictions

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Some of the darkened devices at the casino are made by some of the largest slot-machine makers and suppliers in the country, including International Game Technology, Bally Technology and WMS. The machines are leased by the makers to the casino, Talachy said. The shuffle machines in the poker room are owned by Bally.

Susan Cartwright, a spokeswoman for Scientific Games, which owns Bally Technology and WMS, confirmed their machines were shut down at the casino as a result of the judge’s order.

“In February 2017, the company obtained and reviewed an order issued by a federal district court in New Mexico relating to the Pueblo of Pojoaque, and we are following that order with regards to our relationship with the Pueblo,” Cartwright said in a statement.

Machines and table games that remain are owned by the casino, the pueblo governor said.

The Gaming Control Board is scheduled to meet Wednesday; it will be its first meeting since the judge’s ruling saying the board could take action against suppliers of gaming devices to Pojoaque Pueblo.

An agenda for the meeting hasn’t been released, and a board member declined comment because of the litigation with the pueblo.