ETHETE - An intricately beaded belt by a Northern Arapaho artist is one inspiration behind plans for a state-of-the-art casino two miles south of Riverton on a bluff above the Wind River. Deeply painful poverty is another.

Charles Schiffner of Phoenix, a student of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, said his design for the Wind River Casino incorporates traditional Northern Arapaho designs and patterns.

"I was inspired by a beaded belt I saw at the gift shop of the Northern Arapaho Mission," Schiffner said. "The Northern Arapaho are famous for their intricate beadwork."

The building is like an open belt, Schiffner said. The beaded pattern of the belt is picked up in the building with various colored blocks and tiles of different textures. The designs he is using on the building are "protective designs" from Arapaho tradition, creating "a protective circle around the casino," he said. The Arapaho are associated with stylized, geometric motifs.

Viewed from the air, the Wind River Casino will look like thick segments of a circle, with segments used as a casino and retail/entertainment facility, as well as a hotel. The first phase of Wyoming's first modern-era casino is projected to open by the fall of 2005.

"I love the work," Schiffner said, "because I've seen the benefits that come to the Indian children."

While the tribe receives federal and state assistance, as well as severance tax revenue from oil and gas operations on the reservation, unemployment and poverty are painful realities, and the Wind River Casino represents hope for jobs, improved health, education and social services, as well as revenue for future economic development.

According to federal statistics, the tribe's population is over 7,600, with 35 percent of the members under the age of 16. The unemployment rate is over 65 percent annually, and 70 percent of the tribe lives under the federal poverty line.

"We held several community meetings before we made the decision to go ahead with the casino," said Harvey Spoonhunter, a newly elected member of the Arapaho Business Council.

In addition to tribal government expenses and economic development, Spoonhunter would like to see funding for tribal clubs and organizations n important resources in preserving tribal culture.

Hopes and plans for the casino are freshly invigorated by a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in November, which in essence said the tribe could offer any sort of gambling it wants, potentially doubling anticipated revenues.

Earlier projections indicated the new casino could pull in $8 million to $12 million in annual profits for the tribe. Mark Howell, a government relations consultant for the Arapaho, estimated that with an unlimited gambling license from the federal government, annual profits could run $20 million to $25 million.

The tribe's current 789 Bingo operation - named for the highway along which it sits, Wyoming Highway 789 - pulls in an annual net profit of $2 million.

With a brand-new Northern Arapaho Business Council elected in November, Howell said discussions are ongoing about the implications of the court ruling n what it means in terms of what sort of games will be offered, and more specific ideas as to how casino revenues should be spent. Initial profits will need to be invested back into the casino, as it builds and operates larger facilities in a phased construction plan.

In discussions last week, the Northern Arapaho Business Council set some priorities and allocation guidelines for current and future gaming revenues.

The first commitment, Howell said, is to beef up the Northern Arapaho Gaming Agency so it can develop regulations before the casino opens. Game and slot machine inspectors need to be hired and trained, he said, while accountants and auditors need to be brought on board.

"The idea is to put a system and staff in place to regulate the current bingo operation and get ready for the casino operation," Howell said.

Percentage figures are still being studied for gaming revenue allocations, Howell said. Roughly speaking, the allocations will fall into tribal government operations, economic development, general welfare, a long-term investment portfolio, tribal charities and other expenses.

Federal control

Everything has to operate under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Howell said. Under that law, Class I gaming is defined as traditional Indian gaming and social gaming for minimal prizes. Regulatory authority over Class I gaming is vested exclusively in tribal governments.

Class II gaming is defined as the game of chance commonly known as bingo. Class II games are now offered at the 789 Bingo parlor.

Class III is often referred to as casino-style gaming.

The essence of the 10th Circuit Court ruling, Howell said, is that Wyoming was found to be negotiating "in bad faith" with the tribe regarding gambling, which meant that the tribe could now negotiate with the federal secretary of the Interior. In earlier negotiations, the state sought to exclude slot machines, card games and other Class III games from a proposed compact between the state and the tribe. The appeals court said that approach was wrong because state law doesn't outright prohibit such games.

"I think we'll get a better deal from Interior, because of this ruling, compared to the deal we were looking at before," Howell said.

Wyoming hasn't given up, however. State Attorney General Pat Crank said he intends to appeal the ruling by a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court, by asking the entire court panel to overturn the ruling.

Higher profits

The Northern Arapaho Business Council still needs to decide what it wants to offer at the Wind River Casino, Howell said.

"My earlier estimate of greater profitability is based on the greater profitability found in slot machines," he noted. The council will likely take a long, hard look at what works best for other casinos, he said.

Las Vegas casinos, Howell said, get 85 percent of their profits from slot machines, 11 percent from blackjack tables, 3 percent from betting on sports and 1 percent from all other games, such as roulette or craps.

Under the rules of the Indian gaming law, the casino is owned by the tribe, and profits must be spent on tribal government and social services. That covers a great deal of ground, Howell said, including the general welfare of tribal members, infrastructure, business diversification, health and social services and charitable donations.

Some tribes have built health facilities, schools and homes for the elderly. There are 26 tribal colleges nationwide.

A spokeswoman for the National Indian Gaming Association said even though most tribes have low incomes and high unemployment, casino profits have still paid for new schools, health-care clinics, police stations, sewer and water systems, and other amenities.

Some tribal governments, like the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeast Oregon, have built cultural centers, museums, schools for the preservation of native languages, and ambitious programs to restore fisheries and wildlife habitat.

An Evergreen State College study of Indian gambling in Washington found that tribes benefited strongly from gaming revenues. For example, the Spokane Tribe saw employment rise 24 percent between 1990 and 2000, the median household income on the reservation rose 72 percent, and the percentage of families living below the poverty level dropped 23 percent in the 1990s.

According to the same study, the 31,799-member Yakima Tribe saw incomes rise 53 percent and poverty drop 8 percent.

Faster construction schedule

Howell said financiers and banks have been "beating down the doors" offering construction financing. They also recognize that the new court ruling can make a Northern Arapaho casino operation more profitable than previously envisioned, Howell said.

He said announcements about construction schedules could be made within a few weeks or months. The construction is currently at a standstill, after the building foundation and footers were installed earlier this year.

According to David Staddon, general manager for tribal gaming operations, the construction will come in phases. The first phase is the casino complex, he said, with an expansion as the second phase. The third phase will be a 100-room hotel on the other side of the great circle. The casino will be on a 46-acre site, with a property "footprint" of 15 acres.

"The quality we envision is that it would be three-diamond rated," he said.

According to a Wind River Casino fact sheet, the $10.3 million project will house a 4,800-square foot gaming floor with 400 electronic machines and eight table games. There will also be a 5,200-square foot bingo hall and entertainment center, with seating for 300 and 500 guests, respectively. Other amenities include food and beverage operations and retail space.

Tribal leaders envision an estimated annual payroll of $5 million, creating 120 new jobs.

Community concerns

Dennis Tippets, former Riverton mayor and state legislator, said it is possible to make a case for or against the casino.

"It isn't black and white," he said.

The Wind River Casino will be good for the area, to the degree that it makes Riverton and Fremont County a destination for tourists, he said. Yet he has heard from tribal elders who are concerned that tribe members are spending too much time and too much money on the 789 Bingo hall already.

"That means that it falls to the grandparents to look after the children," Tippets said.

An addiction to gambling can hit any member of the community, so he wondered what will happen when the casino starts operations.

"For myself, I guess I'm opposed to the idea of earning money without working for it," he said n noting the values he received from his parents and grandparents.

Alan Moore, president of the Riverton Economic and Community Development Association, said it all depends on whether the Wind River Casino is successful in attracting sufficient traffic to the area.

"If they can do that, then the hotels and restaurants will do very well," he said. "If not, then we won't notice."

J. R. Walker, owner of the Landing Lounge in Riverton, said he expects to benefit from the casino.

"The gambling out there ain't going to hurt anything. It will help the economy. This is my opinion," Walker said.

He reasons that people who go there to gamble will come back into Riverton for lodging and meals. If they do that, he said, they also will shop in Riverton.

"It's human nature," Walker said.

ow the tribe will compete

Wind River Casino management will have to "exercise creativity and imagination" to attract customers to the Wind River country in a remote section of Wyoming, a Northern Arapaho tribal spokesman said.

"It isn't insurmountable," Mark Howell said.

The Northern Arapaho hired the marketing firm of KPMG to conduct two market studies, Howell said. Based on the experience of other similarly rural, remote Indian casinos around the country, the market data indicate that the Wind River Casino can be profitable, especially with a full range of Class III games, he said.

Bus tour operators and headline entertainment will also be part of the marketing mix that brings customers to the Wind River Casino, Howell added.

Alcohol will not be part of the draw, Howell said. It's illegal to sell alcohol on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

"Many Indian casinos are alcohol-free, and it doesn't hurt business. Research shows that slot players don't drink much, or want to for that matter," Howell said.

Of the two dozen Indian gambling operations in Arizona, for example, only four serve alcohol, Howell said.

David Staddon, the Northern Arapaho's manager of gaming operations, was the vice president of marketing for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Mount Pleasant, Mich. n one of the top casino operations in the country.

Howell said Staddon is one of the best marketers in the world of Indian gambling.

Staddon said his marketing plans do capitalize on the fact that Riverton is on one of the main approaches to Yellowstone National Park.

"That's very helpful, but I only want to target some of the Yellowstone-bound public n particularly the RV (recreation vehicle) drivers," he said.

Staddon said he doesn't want to be too explicit about marketing, but emphasized that marketing is more than a bunch of ads.

"Ads are the result of research-based marketing," he said, "and I expect we'll eventually be in all media." That includes cable TV, billboards and magazines targeting specific market segments.

- Brodie Farquhar, Star-Tribune correspondent

Star-Tribune reporter Joan Barron contributed to this report.