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[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/law_fac_pub Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons eCommons Citation Watson, Blake, "Indian Gambling in Ohio: What are the Odds?" (2003). School of Law Faculty Publications. 74. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/law_fac_pub/74 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Law Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of eCommons. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. INDIAN GAMBLING IN OHIO: WHAT ARE THE ODDS? BLAKE A. WATSON* I. INTRODUCTION In 1991, as an attorney in the Department of Justice, I helped write a brief urging the United States Supreme Court to decline to consider the State of Connecticut’s legal arguments raised in opposition to the plans of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to construct and operate a casino.1 At that time, I had never heard of this tribe, and I would wager (no pun intended) that few people outside of Connecticut were aware that—just eight years earlier—the Mashantucket Pequots had obtained federal recognition as a tribe by an Act of Congress.2 The Pequots’ Foxwoods Resort Casino opened its doors in 1992, and today is one of the largest casinos in the world, with over 5,800 slot machines, a spacious high-stakes bingo hall, and more than 300 gaming tables.3 According to one estimate, the tribal casino’s gross revenue was approximately $1.3 billion in 1999.4 Since 1988, Indian gambling revenues in general have grown from $171 million to over $12 billion per Copyright © 2004, Blake A.