The tabling of the cooperation agreement between the tribe andthe city was a unanimous decision. The council is awaiting anupdate to a 2004 study that predicted a casino would hurt thecity's card rooms. The card rooms generated $3.7 million for thecity in 2005; the study says those revenues could decline by morethan 60% if a large casino opens in the area.

The MOU is in part about providing the city some security inthat regard. The MOU proposes to guarantee the city up to $3million annually for 10 years to offset any loss in revenue.Drafted by the tribe, the agreement states that the guarantee wouldbe reduced should one or more of the cardrooms go out ofbusiness.

The next stage of the process is a draft environmental impactstatement that the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected torelease in the next 30- to 60 days. The study is being prepared bya Sacramento-based company for BIA. A preliminary draft of thedocument indicated plans for a 134,150-sf casino, a 250-room hotelin an eight-story building and nearly 200,000 sf of restaurants,bars, retail shops and entertainment venues. The development wouldcreate 3,151 jobs--1,000 more than La Center's total population--tobecome Clark County's largest employer, according to thepreliminary data.