The state of South Dakota is harming economic development by limiting the number of slot machines allowed in the tribal casinos scattered around the state, a lobbyist for a regional tribal gambling group told a legislative panel meeting in Pierre earlier this month.

"I think we're missing an opportunity ," said Jeremiah M. Murphy of the Great Plains Indian Gaming Association, which includes tribes from South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa.

In Flandreau, Murphy's comments were echoed by a Santee Sioux tribal leader, who says the state's reluctance to give Royal River Casino more leeway with slots is creating a serious hardship for the entertainment complex .

Federal law allows tribes to offer the same kind of gambling offered elsewhere in a state, but a tribe first must negotiate a gambling compact with the state. South Dakota's compacts limit tribal casinos to 250 slot machines, but the tribes can have an unlimited number of poker and blackjack tables.

South Dakota tribal leaders have complained that Gov. Mike Rounds has negotiated in bad faith because he will not agree to compacts increasing the number of slot machines. A pending lawsuit filed by the Santee Sioux alleges the state has unfairly prevented the tribe from adding more slot machines at its casino in Flandreau.

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe President Josh Weston said his tribe estimates that Rounds' refusal to authorize additional machines for Royal River Casino has cost Flandreau residents and South Dakotans "several million" dollars over the past three years.

"Tourism dollars turn over five to eight times, according the governor's own figures," Weston said in an e-mail to the Moody County Enterprise. "Royal River Casino (alone) attracts more out-of-staters than (the entire state brings in) out-of-state hunters annually." Needs to limit machines

Rounds has said he needs to limit the number of slot machines to make sure tribal casinos do not hurt Deadwood casinos and video lottery casinos , both of which provide the state with revenue. The governor also has said some tribes want an unlimited number of slots, but the South Dakota Constitution permits only limited gambling.

Tribal gaming spokesman Murphy said casinos in historic Deadwood in the northern Black Hills have nearly 4,000 slot machines. The video lottery casinos have more than 8,000 machines that offer electronic poker and other games, he said.

Allowing tribal casinos to have additional machines would not harm video lottery establishments, Murphy argues, because video lottery players generally do not go to casinos.

Tribal casinos should be allowed to add games to match their local markets, which would mean those near population centers could get more slots to meet customer demand, Murphy told the legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee. More slot machines would allow tribal casinos to hire more employees, he said.

"It's about jobs. It's about economic development," Murphy said.

Sen. Jim Bradford, R-Pine Ridge, chairman of the legislative committee, said tribal casinos would add more slot machines only if they had enough customers to play the machines. He said workers at the Oglala Sioux Tribe's casino on the Pine Ridge Reservation spend a large part of their paychecks in Rapid City, so the state benefits from the tribal operation.

Attorney General Larry Long was asked about the balance between slot machines allowed in Deadwood casinos and tribal casinos, but he said the only opinions that count are those of the governor and federal judges.

Long noted that a state law requires the governor to balance the interests of all forms of gambling so each has a fair chance to make money. Tribal casinos get about 20 percent as much revenue as the total proceeds of Deadwood casinos, he said. Flandreau loses

Flandreau taxpayers have lost millions in local government payments because the governor continues to act in bad faith toward all Indian tribes, Weston said in his written comment to the Enterprise. "The governor's election promise of reconciliation and working with the tribes are about as good as some of the old treaties the government violated," Weston said.

"But he still has a few months in office to make good on his promises or be known forever in South Dakota history as the governor whose major accomplishment towards Native Americans was a string of broken promises ."