At least $2,090,871 -- Includes money spent on three ballot initiatives.

June 9, 1997

The Coyote State has card rooms, video lottery (poker, blackjack, bingo, keno), pari-mutuel betting horse racing, charitable bingo, Indian casinos, and more than 80 non-Indian casinos in the historic town of Deadwood owned by the likes of Kevin Costner. Since South Dakota voted to make Deadwood a casino town in 1989, South Dakota politics have been hijacked by the massive political spending of gambling interests.

Gambling lobbyists are on South Dakota's records as far back as they go -- until 1988, the year voters amended the state constitution to permit casinos in Deadwood, making it the first jurisdiction outside of Nevada or New Jersey to get legalized gaming. Gambling operators defended video lottery against a repeal campaign in 1992, then tried but failed to raise the state's $5 bet limit in 1993. Costner evidently won't build his planned Dunbar Casino -- named after his character from Dances with Wolves -- until the state raises the bet limit.

South Dakota requires lobbyists to report how much they spend buying lawmakers meals and such, but not how much they're paid by clients; a current list of lobbyists is on the state's Web site. Campaign contribution reports are available on paper only, at 10 to 30 cents per page, creating the usual murky public disclosure situation. Luckily, the public interest group Citizens United for Gambling Reform has analyzed the Secretary of State's data on recent gambling ballot initiatives, and found that gambling interests spent over $2 million pushing, promoting, and defending their business:

BONUS DATA:

Kevin Costner and his brother Dan, owners of the Midnight Star Casino in Deadwood, have stroked federal lawmakers with nearly $18,000 in campaign contributions in the past few years. Here are the lucky recipients:

Web Exclusives:

Heavy Betting
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Ea$y Money: The Documentary
See exclusive video clips from the FRONTLINE and Mother Jones Television co-production.

Fun Facts
Test your knowledge about gambling.

From the Magazine:

Ea$y Money
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All Bets Are Off
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World Wide Wagering
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Hot!Media
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