And whatever the amount, gaming experts said, it would be far less than a non-Indian casino would pay in gaming taxes.

In 1997, he backed an unsuccessful amendment that would have changed the Constitution to allow non-Indian casinos.

Under those compacts, the tribes will pay the state $160 million a year only if there are no non-Indian casinos approved.

He said states under pressure for more gambling would reason that while Indian-run casinos cannot be taxed, non-Indian casinos can.

And because the state cannot tax the Indian casino, Mr. Lee said, Connecticut will probably allow other non-Indian casinos to open.

But the Court's primary focus, for reasons of both pragmatism and First Amendment doctrine, was on the distinction between tribal and non-Indian casinos.

The argument that the existence of casinos on Indian lands should open the gates to non-Indian casinos is equally wrong.

After he lost the Battle of Foxwoods, he changed his strategy and dedicated himself to keeping non-Indian casinos out of the cities.

This week, New Mexico's first non-Indian casino opened at a horse-racing track along the southern border.

But the ban on advertising by traditional, non-Indian casinos, now legal in 22 states, has remained on the books.