From the NIGC:

Phil Hogen, an Oglala Sioux from South Dakota, Completes Service as Longest Serving Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission

Washington DC, October 2, 2009 – National Indian Gaming Commission Chairman Phil Hogen, 64, who was born in Kadoka, South Dakota and lives outside Black Hawk, was appointed as the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission by President George W. Bush in November 2002, and finishes his service in that position at the end of this week.

During his tenure, which is the longest for any Chair of the agency that provides Federal oversight of the $27 billion Indian Gaming industry, the industry has experienced dramatic growth. Indian gaming operates at over 400 tribal locations in 28 states.

“Indian gaming is the most effective and dramatic economic development that ever came to Indian Country,” Hogen stated, “although it is, of course, market based, and those tribes located in urban areas have gained more than those in rural, sparsely populated places like the Dakotas. Nevertheless, it’s worked where so many other things have failed, and I firmly believe that the strong regulation which the National Indian Gaming Commission supports, gives gaming customers justifiable confidence that tribal gaming will be fair, and insures that the proceeds of the games are appropriately utilized by tribes and their members.” Continue reading →