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34 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 5, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 29, 2004 Christine Hile of Hugo plays the slots at Seven Feathers on a recent visit with her 87-year-old father. �We try not to go often because we do tend to spend a little bit of money.� Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Seven Feathers saves Cow Creek Band By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Bingo doesn’t begin for two hours, but seasoned players already are saving their seats. Shiny pink and white polyester jackets and insulated lunch bags mark the choice chairs. While he waits, Larry Starr, 75, of Central Point chews on roast beef, American cheese and tomato on wheat. He pats a seat for a friend who also rode the free Tuesday bus from Medford to Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville. "I don’t come here just for the bingo. ... It’s kind of like old home week on the bus," Starr said. A self-described lifelong gambler, Starr visits the tribal casino usually twice a week to play craps, slots and bingo. Seven Feathers doesn’t have Nevada’s showgirls, but the gambling is just as good, he said. Full-scale, Nevada-style gaming grew a decade ago from Canyonville’s first Indian bingo hall. Today, the millions spent each year at Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort have resurrected the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians. Advertisement "I think by sound and frugal management, we have made our dollars count," said tribal Chairwoman Sue Shaffer, who has led the Cow Creeks for the past 30 years. The tribe in 1992 negotiated the state’s first tribal gaming compact and opened a 450-seat bingo parlor. The tribe quickly added slot machines to the hall, where players took spins at the wheel between rounds of bingo. Keno, poker and blackjack followed in 1994. The 232,500-square-foot casino now boasts more than 1,000 slot machines of nearly 40 varieties, a 10-table poker room, 22 other table games, 146 hotel rooms, a sports bar, ice cream parlor, gift shop, two restaurants and various snack bars. The convention center draws events of all kinds and the casino is a regular venue for live music, sporting exhibitions and comedy shows. "We’re doing something different all the time," Shaffer said. "I think we offer excitement and atmosphere." For a "nice day out," Christine Hile of Hugo brings her 87-year-old father to Seven Feathers. Hile’s father plays slots while she stretches her money on cards. Although she never takes home as much as she spends, Hile said she got lucky on her most recent trip, winning $450 on slots and nearly $1,000 at cards. "We try not to go often because we do tend to spend a little bit of money," she said. How much money the casino takes in, along with the tribe’s income, are not public knowlege. A sovereign nation, the Cow Creeks do not pay property taxes. The casino does pay more than $1.4 million annually in payroll taxes on its more than 950 employees. The tribe is the third-largest employer in Douglas County with an annual payroll of about $20 million, according to the Cow Creek Web site. Its state gaming compact does require the tribe to return at least 6 percent of its net casino profits in the form of charitable donations. The tribe’s foundation has dispersed more than $4.6 million in grants between 1997 and July this year. If they gave away no more than 6 percent of net profits, the Cow Creeks’ earnings would be $77.8 million during that seven years, or about $64,000 for each of the tribe’s approximately 1,200 members. However, the tribe’s members do not receive dividends. Shaffer has vehemently opposed any form of welfare for her tribe, citing a failed national system that made Indians dependent on government funds. The tribe has instead rolled its earnings into education, job training, housing, health care and new investments. "This has been my feeling, that we build people by building their own accomplishments," Shaffer said. "We work against the day when there will be no federal assistance for the tribes." To date, the tribe’s corporation owns 10 businesses besides the casino, including Rio Communications with operations in the Rogue Valley, and is working toward providing its own water and sewer services. Tribal members have hiring preference within the corporation, but less than 10 percent of the tribe’s 1,200 employees are members. Marsha Fugate, 55, fondly recalls her former employment as a beverage server on the casino floor. "It’s a great place to work," the Glide resident said. "The girls I worked with, I think, I miss more than anything." But the gaming, particularly bingo, makes Fugate and her husband regular visitors. "When you win, you want to come back and win again," she said. Riding what he says is a recent winning streak, Cory Mortensen has won about $40,000 playing slots in only 10 days. The 36-year-old Medford resident said he wandered into Seven Feathers for the first time in September while taking a break from working at some Canyonville apartments. He started out with nickels but quickly moved on to a monster machine that sucks up $10 per spin. "Some days, I could win a thousand," he said. "Some days, I could win nothing." Less than two hours later, Mortensen says he’s won $2,500. He doesn’t say how much he’s lost, but admits you have to spend a lot to win a lot. Gaming management and regulation is the tribe’s responsibility, excepting yearly audits by Oregon State Police and compliance checks by the National Indian Gaming Commission. The system is highly regulated when compared to Nevada’s state gaming control board, said Carl Salter, executive director of the tribe’s gaming and regulatory commission. The tribe employs seven gaming inspectors and an internal auditor. An OSP detective works the casino, and the agency also manages the vendor list for games and supplies and runs criminal background checks on gaming employees, Salter said. Professional employees, a friendly atmosphere and clean facility are among Seven Feather’s greatest assets, managers said. And the more than million and a half casino-goers each year see regular evidence of players hitting it big. The most recent newsletter features an Eagle Point man who recently won a $45,000 jackpot. Some players are circumspect about the possibility of becoming hooked. "I’m addicted to everything," said 46-year-old April Blair of Springfield. Blair won $100 playing slots but fed it all back into the machine. After several trips this month to Seven Feathers, the couple’s cash is dwindling. They’ve turned to bingo, a good, cheap thrill. They spend only $12 for a couple hours of play. The smallest prize is $100. "These blue-haired old ladies are going to have a tough one to tangle with today," said Blair’s husband, Kelly. "You would think these senior citizens would be off a little bit, but they’re right on," April said. "We’re going to be pros." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Citibank Student Loans Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers