That May morning 30 years ago Fort McDowell residents used their own cars and trucks, as well as a human wall, to prevent the moving vans from leaving the casino parking lot. As they prepared to roll out with moving vans filled with the slot machines, they found themselves literally boxed in by angry tribal members.

Attorney for Arizona Linda Akers moved to shut down five tribal casinos across the state that featured slot machines, including the Fort McDowell operation.Īgents had little trouble at four of the sites, but not so with Fort McDowell. On the morning of May 12, federal agents under orders from U.S. The situation had been building for several months, as government and tribal officials had been skirmishing with lawyers over the limits of tribal gaming operations. When Congress authorized the Indian Gaming Act in 1988, they expanded the bingo hall and added the slot machines. Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of that day, with the events of the days and weeks that followed sparking a change that would impact Arizona and beyond.įort McDowell had a bingo operation in place for a number of years. It was a fine spring morning on Tuesday, May 12, 1992, when Fort McDowell casino employees responding to a noise at the door were greeted by a cadre of federal agents ready to move in and confiscate 349 slot machines that were in the casino.

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