The state has Las Vegas-style slots, blackjack and poker at 15 Indian casinos, 1,100 outlets that sell lottery tickets, horse racing and slots at five racetracks, and gambling at more than 60 veterans and fraternal clubs. Nearly a decade after the first state-tribal agreements to legalize American Indian casinos were signed, gambling in the state is flourishing, the Albuquerque Journal reported in the first of an eight-part series on gambling. This year, an estimated $3.9 billion will be wagered at the state's casinos, racetracks, clubs and in the state lottery. And gamblers in New Mexico are projected to lose nearly $850 million this year in a state that has ranked among the poorest in the nation for personal per-capita income for the last decade. Gambling has its fans and critics in New Mexico, but even opponents agree that gaming is likely here to stay. Former Gov. Gary Johnson, who signed the historic gambling legislation in the 1990s, said he had no choice under federal law but to negotiate with the tribes and pueblos to expand gaming. "Is it good for New Mexico? I think at best you can call it a wash because, of course, there are a lot of people adversely affected by gambling. But then, on the positive side, it's good for tribes and pueblos," Johnson said. Former Democratic Gov. Toney Anaya acknowledges the state lottery and gaming likely have the majority of citizen support. "But we are not Nevada, and we can't have our economy based on gambling. But because we don't have a lot of other economic development in the state, we're eating ourselves up from inside," he said. Indian gaming nationwide began in 1988 when President Reagan signed legislation to permit Indian casinos. By 1994, eight Indian casinos were operating slot machines in New Mexico. After taking office in 1995, Johnson negotiated the original compacts to permit gaming on Indian lands in New Mexico. Those compacts were later ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court because the Legislature hadn't given consent. In 1997, the state House, reversing a vote from a day before, approved a state-tribal compact to permit Indian casinos by a 35-34 vote. The bill also legalized slot machines at horse tracks and veterans and fraternal clubs. The Senate quickly approved the House-passed bill, and Johnson signed it. Charlie Dorame, chairman of the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association, said the tribes are not interested in getting rich from the casinos, but they want to improve their communities. For example, in Tesuque, about 80 percent of the money for the Head Start program comes from casino revenue, said Dorame, former governor of Tesuque Pueblo and head of its government relations. "We're living in the same old mud and adobe homes, but they have new roofs," he said. Dorame said Indian casinos in New Mexico "are going to be bigger and better." New racetracks with slot machines called racinos are being discussed in Santa Fe, Tucumcari, and Raton. Santa Fe art dealer Jerry Peters and Jemez Pueblo are proposing an off-reservation casino along the Interstate 10 corridor between Las Cruces and El Paso, TX. Despite gambling's taking off in the state, there are many unknowns about the industry's affect on New Mexico. There has been no serious independent attempt in recent years to gauge Indian gambling's economic impact off the reservations. There has been no real state study on problem gamblers since the mid-1990s, though there is anecdotal evidence of foreclosures, bankruptcies, divorce, and even suicide. And the process of state regulation of tribal gaming is cloaked in secrecy. Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, who opposed gambling, said it's not going to go away. "The challenge is to make lemons into lemonade," he said. Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.

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