Sounding Out Washington Gambling Initiative Trails In Poll
Washington state voters will reject another Indian gambling initiative next month, a new poll suggests.
Less than 40 percent of surveyed voters support the proposal to allow slot machines at reservation casinos.
The odds against Initiative 671 appear increasingly daunting, considering three weeks from today it needs 60 percent to pass.
“That’s encouraging,” said Ellen Murray Howe, of No On Initiative 671. “They’ve got a lot of work to do.”
But Howe cautioned against calling the initiative dead. “Don’t forget they’ve got a million-dollar television advertising program coming,” she said.
Doreen Maloney, director of proslots Tribes for Responsible Gaming, said Monday that initiative backers have raised almost $2 million.
The poll numbers - 38 percent yes, 43 percent no, 19 percent undecided - don’t worry her. “We don’t get too excited on the good polls, and we won’t be too discouraged on this one.”
But the poll, conducted for The Spokesman-Review and KHQ-TV by Mason-Dixon/Political Media Research, Inc., indicates the initiative’s support is eroding, not growing.
A month ago, the same company reported that 45 percent of state voters wanted Las Vegas-style gambling on tribal lands.
“Proponents of this (initiative) might not want to dump more money into it when they look into these results,” said Mason-Dixon analyst Del Ali. “My guess is they’ll have to regroup and come back in ‘98.”
The initiative allows tribes to offer slot machines and other electronic gaming devices in exchange for pumping 15 percent of casino profits into public programs.
The Colville and Spokane tribes don’t support the initiative because it would limit them to 25 percent as many slot machines as they already have.
Slot machines are illegal in Washington, but the two tribes are challenging the state’s right to say what sort of gambling they can offer in their casinos.
A federal judge has granted the Spokanes the right to operate slots until the court decides whether the state has the authority to police Indian gaming.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Indian gaming changes in trouble