CATAWBA INDIAN RESERVATION -- Some members of the Catawba Indian Nation are organizing a protest to bring attention to questions they have about the tribe's bingo operation.
The group plans to protest at the Catawba Bingo hall on Cherry Road within the next 30 days, members said at a meeting Wednesday night.
Members of the group say the tribe was told revenue from the bingo hall would aid the tribe in economic development. The money from the bingo hall was supposed to help with health care, education and housing.
However, to date, the York County-based tribe has re-ceived limited financial information from the bingo operation, members said.
The Cherry Road bingo hall opened in 1997. Though the dissidents have not set a date to protest, they insist a protest is necessary.
"For a bingo hall, it's been very profitable, but not for the tribe," tribal member Fred Sanders said. "The money has gone elsewhere."
Tribal leaders say the bingo hall has taken a beating since the S.C. Education Lottery started in January 2002.
"When they say the Catawba Bingo hall is suffering because the state of South Carolina established a lottery, they're absolutely wrong up to mid-year 2003," Sanders said.
An S.C. Department of Revenue report of the Catawba Bingo income shows a gross income of more than $475,000 in 1997 when the hall opened. The total income for the Catawba Bingo hall over a six-year period is more than $87 million, the report shows.
For the first quarter of 2003, the tribe showed a net income of about $2 million from the bingo hall after expenses, prize payouts and taxes.
Catawba leaders announced plans in August to open a second, high-stakes bingo operation along Interstate 95 in Orangeburg County. The plan would allow for a 24-hour gaming operation, seven days a week. The proposal also would allow for large jackpots but stop short of a full-fledged casino.
Tribal member Deborah Crisco said contracts to approve that bingo hall are illegal because the Catawba General Council has not met since September 1998.
The Catawbas were permitted to open two bingo halls under the 1993 federal and local settlement that ended a long-standing land dispute. The Catawbas also were recognized by the United States as a limited sovereign Indian nation as part of the settlement.
Contact Denyse Clark at 329-4069 or dclark@heraldonline.com.
