Tribal casinos employ approximately 280,000 people across the United States, many of whom are American citizens. For the most part, the casinos are not subject to union control. However, one of the biggest tribal casinos, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, is the first to sign a union agreement under tribal law. They may soon be the first tribal casino to file for bankruptcy.

Foxwoods Casino, I hope you enjoyed making money and having productive employees, because you have a union contract now, so you can kiss all of that goodbye. Say hello to fewer hours worked, longer lunch breaks, more frequent breaks, a higher payroll and a workplace full of employees who have no incentive to try their best. Say hello to unionized labor.

The dealers at the casino were upset because the big, bad company was mistreating them for no good reason so they decided to organize and set up collective bargaining. One dealer told NPR that they wanted to join a union because they were “angry that we were losing these good benefits that we had when the company was still making money.”

Um… So you admit that they’re no longer making money? In 2007, revenue was down so the casino had to cut costs in payroll and benefits. It’s what economists would call balancing a budget. That’s kind of like what you’re supposed to do with your finances at home – make sure you’re not spending more than you’re making. Anyway, after cuts were made the dealers got upset and voted to join the United Auto Workers union. Yes, that would be the same UAW that has led to GM, Ford and Chrysler being so successful of late.

In order to stay in business the casino had to lay off a large part of their workforce, including 700 employees as recently as the fall of 2009. The casino’s revenue is down 13% and has $700 million in debt that is due.  And how did the UAW respond to this financial crisis that could lead to the company filing for bankruptcy? They got raises for the workforce!

The recently completed deal gives dealers a 12% raise, allows part-time employees to receive the benefits of full-time employees and provides a more beneficial system for tips. The UAW even gushed with pride that the contract is so “progressive,” which is union code for “bad for business.”

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I always thought that when a company was hemorrhaging money was a bad time to hold your hand out and ask for a bigger cut. We’ve seen how well that has worked with the Big Three automakers. Union contracts have put them in a situation where it’s almost impossible to make a profit. Is such a fate coming to the casino industry now as well? The UAW hopes so, and they have been going after the casino industry for years.

None of this was even possible until 2007. Because tribal territory is considered a sovereign nation separate from the United States, they had always been immune from any federal labor laws, including the National Labor Relations Act. However, in 2007 a California judge ruled against the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and said that federal labor laws did apply to tribal casinos because they employ so many non-tribal members. So let’s get this straight. Because American citizens decide of their own free will to take a job for a company that operates on foreign soil, that foreign company now has to abide by American labor laws? That makes no sense. The tribes saw the ruling as an assault on their sovereignty, and rightfully so, and as a result it has opened the floodgates for powerful unions like the UAW to take control.

So is bankruptcy next for the Foxwood Casino? It’s unclear whether a tribal casino is even eligible for bankruptcy, but then again, logic would state that federal labor laws don’t apply to them, so who knows? If not bankruptcy, since the UAW is involved, a taxpayer-funded bailout may be in the future. And if it happens, we all know where the bulk of those bailout funds will go: to the UAW.

A recent poll conducted by the betting exchange found that there are two major factors weighing on the minds of internet gamblers, the US government’s freezing of assets back in May and the recession. The fact that the US government overstepped their authority, or what I like to call “doing what the government does best” by seizing funds to be paid out to winning players is a major concern among online players – at least those who know about it. The survey showed that 88% of the players were concerned about the security of their money and 76% moved to different sites as a result. However, only 42% of the players in the United States were aware of the freezing of assets from PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

 The poll also showed that 52% of the US players are spending less money in online casinos than the previous year due to the recession. So basically, online players are worried about the government stealing their money and about the government trashing our economy by spending too much of their money. Both problems seem to stem from the same principle: the government cannot be trusted with your money. The players’ worries about the government is the hurting online casino business, which should come as no surprise, because the current administration of bad for every other business as well, though it is good for the United Auto Workers union (UAW) and lawyers that love frivolous malpractice lawsuits. So if the online players want to make some real money they should probably join the UAW.