Casino plan of Tim Pawlenty, which presupposes the Lottery state to own and operate roulette, slots and perhaps craps at a new Twin-Cities casino, is viewed as an unconstitutional act by the Minnesota Attorney General, Mike Hatch. According to the givernor’s plan, the revenues are expected to be shared between the state and its three Indian tribes. But Hatch’s office is not thrilled by this proposition, alluding to its mismatches with constitution. Legal scholars seem to support Hatch, saying that there might be certain merit in these constitutionally related issues.
The Chief Deputy Attorney, Kristina Eiden maintained recently that games of chance such as roulette and slots do fall under the category of “lottery game”, but they also fall under the Vegas –style gaming which is banned by the 1988 amendment authorizing only certain types of scratch-off games and Powerball.
Above all, Eiden expressed some concerns on the superfluous controlling power over the gaming activities, which the governor obliviously wants to dispatch to the state’s Indian tribes. She ratified that distribution of gaming proceeds seems to breach another constitutional provision, sparing nearly 40 percent of the lottery revenues to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Pawlenty Chief of Staff Dan McElroy responded saying that in spite of thrown accusations the administration feels the act is on solid legal ground.
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