Casino Liquor License: Locals afraid to comment

People Against a Casino Town

News of Interest

KEZI Television Coverage

Casino Liquor Sales

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 06:35 PM

Here's something you might not know.

     Restaurants and bars pay twice as much as indian gaming casino's for liquor.

     And what really gets to some is that they're buying it from the same distributor.

     The state of Oregon.

     It's the same alcohol, the same distributor... so you're probably asking...why the break?

"It's an amicable deal between the state government and sovereign nation," said Mark Jaehnig, Inspector and Investigator with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

     Amicable if you're a indian gaming casino.

     They get a huge break on the price they pay for liquor.

"The tribes are sovereign nation and aren't required to go through our distribution center," said Jaehnig.

     But because they do chose to buy from the state... they get a big break.

"The sovereign nations are being good neighbors in supporting the state in where reservations are at," said Jaehnig.

     To give you an idea of price.

     A bottle of vodka costs the state $10.46.

     It's then sold to casino's for about 11 dollars.

     That same bottle would be marked up 100-percent for a regular bar; the price; nearly 21 dollars.

     And if you're a state liquor store...it goes up even more to 21.45.

"While they don't necessarily pay what a bar or tavern owner pay for a bottle of liquor.. they contribute a great deal back to the community," added Jaehnig.

     "The tribe is a government so it's a sovereign government that has similar arrangements with other governments," said Bob Garcia, Economic Development Director of Three River's Casino.

     The Three River's Casino in Florence is getting ready to open.

     It has a memorandum of understanding regarding the purchase of liquor... with the state.

"It's not that we're getting a special break...it's that we have a government to government relationship and different arrangement with the state," said Garcia.

     We went to restaurants and bars on bay street in florence and no one wanted to talk to us on camera... many afraid that if they commented on the issue...it would hurt their business later on.

     The truth is some in this area... aren't happy with that deal at all.
     They don't understand why Indian tribes are getting a big break when it comes to liquor.
     They wonder if that's really fair competition.
     The OLCC says all Oregon Indian Tribes have an agreement with the state.
     As for the Three River Casino; it plans to open sometime next month.

http://www.kezi.com/content/contentID/7727

Related Links:

PACT SEARCH FACTS LAWSUIT LINKS NEWS RESEARCH ACTION