Mystic Lake Casino Casino To Add 4 Card Games

Mystic Lake Casino is expanding its gaming again, offering the card games that have bolstered Canterbury Park's purses and bottom line. Supporters of the added card games say the casino is responding to customer demand while supporters of the track are concerned the move is retribution for Canterbury's attempts to win approval for a casino at the Shakopee horse track.


In August, the casino's dealers will offer pai gow, let it ride, three-card poker and Caribbean stud at 12 of the 88 tables where the Prior Lake casino now offers blackjack, said Willie Hardacker, staff legal counsel for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community, owners of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. Hardacker said the switch to the four casino card games is within parameters of the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act of 1988, which he said allows the tribe to offer any of the Class II gaming that the state offers.


The addition of the four games does not require the compacts that govern Indian gaming in Minnesota to be reopened, said Roger Ball, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division.


Dealers at the casino are learning to deal the new games. Last week, Canterbury Park President Randy Sampson and his staff saw a training manual with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota logo on it. Sampson said the training manual confirmed rumors he and his staff had heard that the casino was adding card games Canterbury deals in its Card Club.


Sampson said revenue from the Card Club has been critical to Canterbury's success, fueling a 30- to 40-percent increase in purses for live racing since the club opened in 1999. The larger purses have helped Canterbury attract more and better horses in an industry that has been on the decline nationally.


Canterbury has sought permission to add slot machines at the track. This spring, the state Legislature failed to act on a proposal for a "racino" at Canterbury that would have brought casino-style gaming to the track.


The Republican-controlled House passed the racino proposal, but it was shelved by the DFL-controlled Senate, a victim of a tradeoff for the Senate passing a portion of a biennial budget that House leadership and Gov. Tim Pawlenty's sought as a piece of the $4.2 billion deficit-reduction plan.


Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, a racino bill sponsor in the House, said the tribe's decision to add the casino-style card games only bolsters his argument for competitive balance between Mystic Lake and Canterbury.


Native American gaming supporters challenged Buesgens' bill with claims that a racino at Canterbury would hurt tribal gaming. Buesgens' racino proposal is still alive, awaiting action by the Senate Tax Committee when the Legislature reconvenes.


Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee, agreed, noting that Mystic Lake's decision strengthens his support for the racino and his confidence that support for it was proper. Beard does not believe the tribe's actions are predatory. "I suppose it's a good business move," he said.


Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, is wary of the potential impact of the casino adding cards Canterbury has, even on a limited basis. "It's the camel's nose under the tent," she said. Robling agrees with Buesgens that the move could help Canterbury win approval for the racino.


Sen. John Hottinger, DFL-St. Peter, the Senate majority leader, opposed the racino bill. While he supported the Card Club concept as a means to help Canterbury become "viable" and to support the agriculturally based horse racing industry, he remains opposed to the racino because it represents an expansion of gambling.


He believes the state and the Minnesota Lottery have expanded state-run gambling operations too much. Hottinger says the state should not get involved in Mystic Lake's gaming operations, deferring to the federal government to manage tribal gaming.


To Hottinger and others concerned about the expansion of gambling in the state, Sampson said the argument is "somewhat disingenuous" if Mystic Lake is allowed to add the card games. He's concerned that the casino's motives could be retribution for seeking the racino at the Legislature.


Hardacker staunchly disputed Sampson's suggestion, saying the casino's customers have long sought an alternative to blackjack. He said that if the tribe truly wanted to go after Canterbury, it would implement the new games at most or all of its tables and not just 12.


Canterbury supporters are quick to respond that the track's clientele has long been asking for the addition of casino-style slot machines.