Report Says Washington Tribal Casinos Mismanaged

Two tribal casinos near Tacoma were found to be grossly mismanaged by auditors investigating the gambling operations for the tribe.

Sensing that gambling operations at their two Emerald Queen casinos were not running at a satisfactory level, the Puyallup Tribe hired Lamar Associates to investigate the situation. Lamar's representatives returned a confidential report outlining gaming venues with poor morale, a lack of proper security, and bad management.

A leaked copy of the report reached News-Tribune writers, who say the investigation concludes that the tribe is losing many millions a year due to poor performance by upper management.

“The Emerald Queen Casino is leaving approximately $40 million a year in revenue on the table. Immediate changes are necessary to protect the tribe’s gaming assets and to ensure that maximum revenue is generated,” said the report.

General Manager Frank Wright was not personally criticized, but the weight of the report falls upon him. Wright barely managed to retain his job last week when a split vote on whether to dismiss him was broken in his favor by tribal chairman Herman Dillon.

The worst of the discovered problems involve security, which was found to be unprepared for theft or scams. No accusation of council impropriety was alleged, but the reviewers did recommend the formation of an autonomous regulatory board, free from council or gaming influences.