Grand Forks Casino Bill Fails, Lawmaker Rebuked for ‘Cartel’ Comments

Posted on: February 17, 2025, 04:01h. 

Last updated on: February 18, 2025, 05:36h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A North Dakota state senator faced criticism Friday for speculating that a proposed casino in the city of Grand Forks, N.D. could be financially backed by drug cartels, as a bill that would have enabled the project was voted down.

Prior to the vote, Sen. Diane Larson (R-Bismarck) claimed she couldn’t get a straight answer about where the money was coming from for the casino, proposed by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (TMBCI).

“Cartels, or what?” she demanded, as reported by The Grand Forks Herald.

Larson made this comment despite TMBCI Chairman Jamie Azure explaining to a Senate Judiciary Committee on February 5 that the proposed $300 million casino would be built using a mix of private bank financing and self-financing, from the tribe’s own economic development fund.

Larson is the chair of the committee.

Screaming Header

If the senator missed this during the committee hearing – perhaps because she was momentarily deep in thought about the broader implications of the issue – then she might have at least picked up the slack from the subsequent coverage in the Herald.

The paper ran with the header: “Cash for proposed Grand Forks casino would come from tribal funds, ‘private bank financing,’ Azure says.”

Larson caused additional offense by suggesting that North Dakota had “given land” to the tribe, adding, apparently with sarcasm, that “maybe every major city in North Dakota should partner with a tribe and give land and we can have casinos all over our state.”

TMBCI purchased the 146-acre parcel of land southwest of Grand Forks City limits using tribal funds and was not asking for any funding from the state or the city.

Larson’s comments drew criticism from her Republican colleagues.

I was disappointed by the language of the chair of the Judiciary Committee claiming the tribe is associated with cartels in order to defeat this project,” Scott Meyer (R-Grand Forks) told the Herald after the vote. “It’s hard to argue with people using incorrect data, hypotheticals, and hearsay.”

Kristin Roers (R-Fargo) said she was “incredibly offended” by Larson’s remarks, adding she believed “our chamber is better than that.”

Larson has apologized for the comments.

Dream Fades

TMBCI is the largest tribe in North Dakota with around 31K members. It owns the Sky Dancer Casino in a relatively remote part of the state, close to the Canadian border.

The proposed off-reservation Grand Forks casino, which was backed by the city, was part of a ten-year economic plan to revitalize the tribe’s finances, Azure said during the February 5 committee hearing.

The bill was defeated by a 29-1 vote in the Senate, partly over concerns that it would cannibalize revenues from charitable gaming.