Sports: Golden Eagles upset in semifinals. B1
Business: Website called Pinterest sparks interest. E1
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March 6, 2012
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State finally gets its say in GOP fuss
INDIAN GAMING: OKLAHOMA IS SECOND IN NATION
CA$HING IN
••Obama•is•not•expected•to•have•a• problem•with•four•challengers•in• Democratic•primary. BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Oklahoma•Republicans•take•their•turn•at•choosing•their•party’s•presidential•nominee•on•Tuesday,• with• Rick• Santorum• leading• Mitt• Romney• in• the• state•by•double•digits•and•Newt•Gingrich•close•behind•Romney,•according•to•the•latest•public•polling• by•American•Research•Group. The• Democratic• primary,• meanwhile,• is• expected• to• be• a• lowkey• contest• between• President• Barack• Obama• and• four• lesser-known• protest• candidates,• including• perennial• state• candidate• Jim• Rogers• and• antiabortion•activist•Randall•Terry. Because•Oklahoma•has•closed•primaries,•voters• may•vote•only•in•their•party’s•primary.•Registered• independents•may•not•vote•in•the•primary. Barring•surprises,•the•Republican•primary•is•expected• to• attract• most• of• the• attention.• Although• Terry•has•made•a•concerted•push•in•the•state•and• SEE VOTE A5
Find all of the Tulsa World’s coverage of the 2012 local, state and national elections; information about the candidates; a precinct locator; and sample ballots. tulsaworld.com/election2012
Jury convicts Morgan of 1 bribery count BY NOLAN CLAY The Oklahoman
Visitors try their luck at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
Only California has more tribal gaming
I
BY WAYNE GREENE • World Senior Writer
ndian gaming revenue in Oklahoma rose to $3.23 billion in 2010 and more tribal gaming facilities are planned for the state, according to an annual report that tracks Indian gaming nationally. The reported gaming revenue figure for the state is equal to 2.4 percent of the state’s reported gross domestic product for 2010.
Oklahoma Indian gaming facilities also earned another $457.4 million in nongaming revenue, according to the latest Indian Gaming Industry Report by Alan Meister, an economist with Nathan Associates Inc. The report was released Tuesday. Nationally, Meister reports $26.7 billion in Indian gaming revenue and another $3.2 billion
in nongaming revenue in 2010, meaning tribal facilities represent 44 percent of all U.S. casino gaming revenue. Oklahoma is second only to California in Indian gaming. The two states account for 38 percent of all tribal gaming revenue in the nation. SEE GAMING A4
OKLAHOMA CITY — A former leader of the Oklahoma Senate was found guilty Monday of taking $12,000 in bribes to influence legislation. The jury found Mike Morgan, a Democrat, guilty of a single bribery count but acquitted him of 33 other felony counts. He plans to appeal the conviction. “We are very disappointed,” his attorney, David Ogle, said. The jurors deadlocked on 28 other felony counts. Prosecutors have a week to decide whether to retry him before a different jury on those 28 counts. The jurors also acquitted TO APPEAL prominent Oklahoma City atMike Morgan: torney Martin Stringer of all of The ex-Senate the 29 felony counts remaining leader is acquit- against him. The judge had disted of 33 counts missed 33 other counts against and jurors dead- Stringer during the trial because lock on others. of insufficient evidence. “I hope nobody ever has to go through what I’ve gone through,” Stringer, 71, told reporters afterward. The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated about 15 hours over three days at the Oklahoma SEE JURY A4
House passes breeders bill to reassign board BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill to reassign the duties of the commercial pet breeders board to the state Agriculture Department passed the House on an 80-3 vote Monday. The overwhelming vote without debate or questions from the House floor came despite warnings from current board members that the move would leave the state without rules to cover pet breeders at least temporarily and would be unfair to good breeders who have accepted state regulation.
The measure would wipe out the current board’s membership and rules, said Rep. Phil Richardson, R-Minco, the bill’s author. Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, said the reorganization of the pet breeding regulatory duties makes fiscal and public policy sense. “I think … the Department of Agriculture is absolutely where this board belongs,” said Denney, author of the original legislation creating the pet breeders board. Denney, a veterinarian, said her SEE BOARD A3
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Class-action status sought in lawsuit against EMSA
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BY ZIVA BRANSTETTER World Enterprise Editor
BILL AUTHOR Rep. Phil Richardson: The legislation would wipe out the current board’s members and rules and reassign duties to the Agriculture Department.
A Tulsa law firm representing EMSA was named as a defendant in a lawsuit Monday seeking class-action status for patients enrolled in the agency’s utility fee program. The Works & Lentz law firm was added as a defendant in the civil lawsuit originally filed by two patients in EMSA’s TotalCare utility program. The suit, filed in Tulsa County District Court, also names the Emergency Medical Services Authority as a defendant. Four additional plaintiffs have joined
Read the stories in the Tulsa World’s investigation of EMSA. tulsaworld.com/emsa
the lawsuit, originally filed Feb. 24 by Tulsa attorneys Robert Pezold and Joseph Woltz. The suit claims the firm sued participants in the utility program and obtained judgments against some, even SEE EMSA A3
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