Casino to become an Indian reserve

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A deal that will see an Indian-run casino operate on an urban reserve is getting the green light from the city's top politician.

The Painted Hand Casino which operates in downtown Yorkton will be the second reserve-based casino but the first to operate in an urban municipality. The Bear Claw Casino on the White Bear Indian Reserve near Carlyle was the first Indian casino in the province.

The federal department of Indian and Northern Affairs has confirmed that a deal could be approved as soon as the middle of May.

More than 130 casino employees with Indian status will benefit from this change. But just as important, the city of Yorkton will also reap the fruits of this agreement when it is in place.

Yorkton Mayor Ben Weber flashes a grin when he says the deal spells more money for everybody.

"The extra money people save will be an advantage at the local level," said Weber. "If they don't pay income tax, they buy more houses and cars."

Currently, status Indians who live in Yorkton and work at the casino pay the federal tax. The rules are different for status employees who commute from the surrounding Indian reserves. They catch a break and are not federally deducted. But the agreement will change all that with every status employee becoming tax exempt.

Warren Zubko, a casino slot manager, says with a laugh he wishes he was status Indian so he could take home a bit more money. But Zubko says this is still the best job he has ever had and it's great that some of his co-workers will benefit from the change.

And Zubko knows the casino has been very good to him as well.

"It's allowed us to buy a home, stay in Yorkton close to the farm," said Zubko who's from Stenen, about 100 km north of Yorkton. "It's been a very good experience working with First Nations."

And the new urban reserve experience will not affect municipal taxes either. Mayor Weber says the city will not lose a tax base but will ensure a business relationship. The agreement has service fees that are similar to business taxes without the education tax, he said, and the schools don't lose money because the provincial government provides grants to make up for any lost revenue. If anything, the casino has more than made up for any lost revenue through some of its community contributions.

As Yorkton's director of economic development, Larry Horncastle puts it, the casino is a "good corporate citizen."

He says at first the people of Yorkton weren't too anxious to have a casino in their city, but after talking to Indian leaders their minds quickly changed.

"It was like attracting another shopping centre," said Horncastle. "They see it as a great way to entice visitors."

And the saying, "If you build it they will come," proved to be absolutely true. In 1996 the city moved its tourism department to the east side of the city along Highway 9. Tourism Yorkton likes to keep track of people who visit the city by having them sign a guest book. In that year, a little more than 5,000 tourists signed the book.

Nearly three years and one casino-opening later the number of signatures in the book has skyrocketed to almost 25,000 names.

Randy Goulden, executive director of Tourism Yorkton, says having the casino in the city definitely attracts a crowd. She says she doesn't foresee any problems with the casino obtaining reserve status.

"They're treated like any other property owner in the city," said Goulden. "No different from Wal-Mart coming in. We have service agreements with them."