“The majority owner would have been the Cowlitz, or Dave (Barnett).” Rossman added that the consulting agreements were reviewed and approved by outside law firms.īarnett worked zealously to advance the tribe’s gaming interests - though attorneys hired by the tribe warned his own interests were too closely intertwined, according to tribal documents. “The goal was for the tribe to have a presence in Oregon,” Rossman said. He said the contract gave the Cowlitz tribe first right of refusal to run any casino Rossman and Studer developed if their campaign was successful. Rossman told The Oregonian/OregonLive that Barnett wanted to expand the Cowlitz tribe’s gambling operations into Oregon. Thousands lined up for the grand opening of the ilani Casino Resort on April 24, 2017. And if the pair did develop a casino, the Cowlitz tribe would have the option to manage it for them. The agreements included a clause that forbade the would-be casino developers from moving forward with a private casino that would compete with ilani. Documents outline the arrangement in broad strokes, saying they would work to protect the ilani from competitors without specifying how. He, too, was elected in 2020 as chair of the tribe’s general council, its top leadership post.īarnett brokered a series of agreements between the tribe and Rossman and Studer, or at times with their company, R&S Strategy Group. And few pursued the tribal gaming motherlode as aggressively as Barnett, who died in May at age 61.īarnett’s father was a tribal chair who led the Cowlitz to securing federal recognition, and the younger Barnett played key roles in securing the tribe’s land and getting ilani built. Casinos also have made some players in the business extremely wealthy. Gaming dollars have been transformative for some tribes, funding various social programs. At the urging of an influential tribal leader, the late David Barnett, the tribe entered into a contract paying from $30,000 to $50,000 a month to R&S Strategy Group or its owners, Rossman and Studer.Īccording to a copy of the agreement and records of tribal meetings, as well as interviews with Rossman, the tribe aimed to stave off competitors, particularly the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in Oregon. Gaming is vital to Northwest tribal economies and, in this case, access to the highly lucrative gambling market in Oregon’s population center was at stake.Ĭowlitz leaders turned to consultants Matthew Rossman and Bruce Studer and their company - best known for a nearly two-decade quest to build the state’s first private, non-tribal casino over the objections of tribes in Oregon.

Ilani casino weapons policy