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DINOSAUR, Colorado — Native American tribes around the country have raked in millions of dollars through the operation of casinos. Now a tribe in Utah is looking to get in on the action, but it's not going to build its casino in Utah.
Gambling is illegal in Utah, but not in Colorado. And that's what has the Ute Indian Tribe eyeing a possible casino there.
Like most towns in Utah border states, Dinosaur, Colo., sees a lot of Utahns crossing the state line looking to get lucky. That's why officials in the town of 350 believe partnering with the Ute Indian Tribe to build a casino there — expected to be up and running within two years — may be the answer to their financial woes.
"We don't have a lot of money, and that's the sad part," said acting Mayor Richard A. Blakley. "We run on about a $120,000-a-year budget.
The town and the tribe split the cost of a recently completed feasibility study, which found the area could support a casino similar to the Ute Mountain Ute Casino in Towaoc, Colorado.
- Generated $137 million in sales
- Employed nearly 2000 people
- Paid $49.3 million in salaries
- Paid $4.3 million in taxes
"It would promote a lot of jobs," Blakley said. "My understanding is 200 jobs or plus."
The Ute Tribe must still buy land near Dinosaur and receive approval from the federal government to have it added to the reservation, and may have to deal with some local opposition to the project as well.
"It will just bring more riff-raff and problems than what we got in town," said Robert Ormsby, a Dinosaur resident.
Blakley said he's aware of those concerns, but believes they can be addressed.
"We already have alcohol problems, that kind of stuff here," he said. "Maybe this could help because if you have your own police force, it would help maybe smash it down, instead of it growing."
