I got the following news story today. Is anyone near this place who can check out the chip situation???

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A federal judge who threatened to jail Santee Sioux
leaders for failing to close the tribe's outlawed casino dismissed civil
contempt charges against them after determining leaders had no authority to
shut it down.

U.S. District Judge William Cambridge said Friday that the Tribal Council
was not in contempt of his previous order to close the casino since it is
bound by the tribe's Aug. 3 referendum to keep the casino open.

However, the judge said authorities should pursue criminal charges to close
the casino.

"I thought I was going to jail," Tribal Chairman Butch Denny said between
hugs with tribal members Friday. Inside the courtroom, about 60 members of
the tribe cheered the ruling, while outside others broke out in tribal
song.

If the leaders had been convicted and sentenced to jail, it would have been
the first time an Indian had been imprisoned over a gambling dispute since
Congress first allowed tribes to negotiate gaming compacts with states 11
years ago.

The court hearing was the latest in a three-year effort by state and
federal officials to close the casino on the Santee Sioux reservation near
the South Dakota border in northeast Nebraska.

The tribe opened the Ohiya Casino in February 1996 without the necessary
state approval. Casino-style gambling is illegal in Nebraska.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 requires states to negotiate such
agreements with tribes to set rules and limits on gambling. The tribe sued
the state, alleging it failed to negotiate in good faith.

The U.S. Attorney's office attempted to get the Tribal Council to close the
casino under an order issued by Cambridge in November.

Cambridge said the casino is clearly illegal and should be closed. U.S.
Attorney Tom Monaghan said the tribe will continue to be fined $6,000 per
day for operating the casino.

The tribe faces $726,000 in fines to date. None had been paid as of Friday.

Denny said he hopes the tribe will negotiate a gaming compact with the U.S.
Department of Interior under new rules that allow tribes to negotiate with
the federal agency when states have been reluctant to talk with the tribes.

The Santee said the casino's 23 jobs are much needed on the reservation
where the unemployment rate is 74 percent.

"We're not trying to break anybody's laws," casino manager Thelma Thomas
said. "We're just trying to make life better for our people."