New Entertainment At Point Defiance Cafe

UPDATE 12:19pm: This is one of the many things that make living in a small town so great - after tonight's scheduled karaoke group failed to show to set up today,  Ruston's own fire chief Don Torbet will step in to save the day. Besides serving as Ruston's fire chief, Torbet and his wife own and operate Don's Ruston Market. Don has sung and played drums in local rock and roll bands since high school and recently bought a professional karaoke system. He's upgraded with thousands of new songs and has been looking for a way to share his new toy with others. Everyone wins! Be sure to stop in and check out the fun for yourself tonight (5037 N. Pearl, Ruston, 98407)!
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Point Defiance Cafe and Casino owner Steve Fabre announced this week that they have added some nice enticements to get customers in the door. The popular karaoke crew that worked at the now closed Ruston Inn will be entertaining guests at Point Defiance on Friday and Saturday nights after 5pm.

The cafe also has newly remodeled room that now serves as a sports bar - with special pull tabs that are not available anywhere else in the state. Stop in soon, sing a song or two and support another local business!

Casino Lawsuit Against Ruston Dismissed

The Town of Ruston made a "breaking news" announcement on Friday (link here) about the dismissal of the latest lawsuit between Point Defiance Cafe and the Town of Ruston last week. Most of the case was dismissed in June of last year, but one piece of the suit was allowed to continue. The town congratulates the new attorney Carol Morris for successfully arguing the case on April 23rd.

Vote To Repeal Referendum On Casino

The town council added Ordinance 1328 to the agenda at their council meeting last night (below) and spent considerable time in executive session (where the public is barred from hearing the discussion). Jim Wingard was one of only two citizens who stuck around after the executive session ended. He is reporting on his blog (here) there was no council vote on this ordinance at the meeting last night, which was confirmed by town officials.

It's Official - We Vote

This resolution has been filed with Pierce County (click here to read) setting a special election in Ruston. Citizen's will vote on whether or not to outlaw card rooms and other gambling activities in town. The vote will be held along with the rest of the election on the first Tuesday in November. Let the campaigning begin!

Judge's Ruling

Here is the official judge's ruling on the casino case. There will be no monetary cost to the town, but the gambling tax increase has been voided.

Ruston Gambling Tax Increase Voided

UPDATE, 8:31 PM: The News Tribune has a few more details here... It does not appear the town will have to pay any monetary damages even though the ruling went against them. Since the casino shut down in response to the tax increase, no taxes were paid at the higher rate that would need to be refunded.
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Judge Cuthbertson announced his decision in the lawsuit between Point Defiance Casino and Cafe and The Town of Ruston this morning. He ruled that the gambling tax increase was improperly enacted and is therefore void. Ruston's counterclaims were dismissed.

There is no mention of any monetary award in the decision, although the Casino's request for attorney's fees was denied. I am gathering more information, and trying to get the ruling into a format that will allow me to post it. I'll get more details when I can, such as what impact this will have financially on the town.

Casino Trial

The trial between Point Defiance Cafe and Casino and the Town of Ruston finally began today. After many motions and delays, opening arguments were heard today and witnesses began testifying about the events surrounding the decision to increase the gambling tax on the gaming at this business. You can research previous posts on this issue under "Casino" label to the right.

Casino Trial Postponed

It has been confirmed that the trial between Point Defiance Casino and the Town of Ruston has been delayed for several more months. The proceedings had been scheduled to start a week ago Thursday, but were called off at the last minute. The entire proceeding has been delayed now until a new court date can be assigned.

Going to Trial?

Jim Wingard (RustonInsider) in reporting that motions for summary judgement filed by both sides in the Point Defiance Casino lawsuit were denied in court today. Both Ruston and the casino had asked the judge to decide in their favor without a full trial (a summary judgement) A trial date is set for August according to Jim.

Point Defiance Casino Vs. Ruston

The News Tribune is reporting more on the on-going saga of the Point Defiance Casino and Ruston lawsuits. Both have filed for summary judgement, asking the judge to rule in their favor before a trial. If the case proceeds to trial, a hearing on July 10th has been set. Read more here...

Case For The Casino

I had an interesting conversation with Steve Fabre of Point Defiance Casino and Cafe last week. He wanted folks in Ruston to know what is happening with the lawsuit between himself and the Town. You’ll recall that he closed his gambling operations shortly after the Town Council imposed a tax increase from a sliding scale (that had been paying about 2%) to a flat rate of 12%. The following outlines Mr. Fabre’s views on the pending litigation. The Town was invited to respond but has declined. ~ Karen

First, the timeline of events:

• Mr. Fabre settles with Ruston Connection in their lawsuit between the Casino and the Chinese Christian Church.
• The Ruston Connection suggests a tax increase on the Casino in the next newsletter.
• Council Member Stebner brings it up the same idea at next council meeting.
• The issue goes dormant for few months.
• Council Member Albertson brings up the idea again in May 2008.
• Mr. Fabre places calls to all council members inviting them to meet with him and work on alternatives. Only Council Member Hedrick returned his calls, although Fabre did catch Council Member Hunt at home briefly. Fabre wrote letters outlining his case instead.
• In July, 2008 the Town Council passed a gambling tax increase to 12% on the first reading (400% to 1200% increase compared to the former sliding scale). Council rules require a second reading for ordinances, which allows one chance for public input at the end of the meeting where the first reading is done (no public comment is allowed on any business item – only during public comment at the end of each meeting). The requirement for a second reading of ordinances can be waived by the majority of the council plus 1. Council Member Stebner was absent at this meeting, so the vote to waive the second reading was 3 to 1.
• The casino immediately asks for preliminary injunction to allow the issue to be heard by the court before the tax is collected.
• The injunction was denied because the judge would not accept the recording of the meeting as evidence of what the vote count had been – and the town attorney refused to acknowledge that the vote had been 3 to 1.
• There were other motions filed by both sides – the end result is the judge ordering a trial.

Mr. Fabre outlined three main arguments for his case:

1. He feels this is a personal vendetta against him and/or his business. The depositions are bearing this out. Albertson says he does not trust Fabre. Council Member Huson likewise says he does not trust Fabre. Huson has stated in his deposition; “I never returned phone calls to Mr. Fabre. I will never return phone calls to Mr. Fabre. I don’t like his demeanor. He makes my skin crawl. I don’t want to be in the same room with him.”
2. Council did not follow their own rules. Those rules require that a second reading of ordinances can only be waived by a majority plus one of the council. The rules are included in the council meeting materials by clicking here (you'll need to scroll down past other information). The vote to waive the second reading on this was 3 to 1, not the required 4 member majority of a 5 member council.
3. Case law interprets the general presence of law enforcement to be a deterrent to illegal gambling. Most departments will deposit gambling tax into their general fund to be used on general police activities, but will dedicate as least some resources to enforcement of the state Gambling Act.
1. Former Chief Reese specifically declined to enforce gambling violations when a casino employee was caught in violation, telling officers to refer the case to the Gambling Commission in April 2008.
2. If the gambling tax is supposed to be directly tied to even “general” law enforcement, no reduction was made in the police budget when the casino operations were closed. Nor did the council set policy or direction on how the gambling tax would be used or how it related to the police budget.
   

Mr. Fabre has offered to settle the case. In general terms, he will agree to a flat rate increase of 4% in the gambling tax, which is the same rate paid by other facilities in Fife. And he wants to be paid the actual costs he would need to open up the casino again. He has not asked to be reimbursed for attorney fees or for “soft costs” such as pain and suffering.

According to Fabre, Ruston is not willing to discuss settling the case. So the depositions continue and everyone is preparing for trial.

Casino Offer Settlement

The News Tribune is reporting today that Point Defiance Casino has offered to settle their $9 million plus lawsuit with the Town of Ruston. You will recall both sides lost in their efforts for summary judgment early last month.

The casino has put forward an undisclosed settlement offer (which includes an offer for this casino to pay the same rate as larger casinos in Fife). And in an effort to rebuild some business, the former casino space will be used for dancing and karakoe soon. Warm up those vocal cords and dust off those dancing shoes, Winnifred! No need to leave town to party anymore.

Point Defiance Casino Vs. Town of Ruston

You will recall that Point Defiance Cafe has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Town of Ruston over the increase in gambling tax (and how the tax was imposed). Ruston in turn filed a motion for summary judgement (asking the judge to rule in their favor without a trial).

The motion for summary judgement was denied by Judge Vickie Hogan today. It appears both parties had asked for summary judgement in the case - in their favor. Both requests were denied and the respective attorneys told to set a trial date. Jim Wingard was at the hearing today, you can read about his observations at Ruston Insider.

Casino Operation Closes

In case you missed the reader board at the Point Defiance Cafe and Casino today, house-banked casino operations closed as of yesterday. The reader board says the closure is due to the tax increase imposed by the council last month. Poker will continue, as presumably will the cafe operations.

Jim Wingard has a first hand account of what happened at the hearing on Friday morning on this issue. Read more here...

I am waiting for more details from the casino owner... ~ Karen

Casino Sues Ruston

UPDATE Wednesday July 23rd: The News Tribune had a brief mention of this on their political blog yesterday.

Here is what was filed in court by Point Defiance Cafe and Casino trying to stop the tax increase imposed by the Ruston Council on July 7th. It it addressed to the Town of Ruston begins with "A lawsuit has been started against you..."

Gambling Tax Raised to 12%

The Ruston council voted tonight to raise the gambling tax to a flat rate of 12% rather than the current graduated scale. Point Defiance Cafe and Casino is the only business in Ruston with gaming and was paying the lowest tax rate on that scale (1%) due to very low volume so far this year.

This ordinance was scheduled for its first reading tonight. Under council rules, ordinances are required to have 2 readings at consecutive meetings. The council waived the second reading of this ordinance, so the ordinance was passed tonight without any public comment. Many casino employees attended the meeting tonight hoping to address the council during public comment at the end of the meeting prior to their final vote in 2 weeks.

The casino owner has acknowledged that he can no longer afford to operate the casino at a higher tax rate (see previous post). He says he will close the gaming portion of the business and all employees will be laid off. If he does so, any tax Ruston hoped to gain from this business will be lost.

Casino May Suspend Gambling

Steve Fabre, owner of the Point Defiance Cafe and Casino, has sent the following letter to the Ruston Council as they consider increasing the taxes on his business by almost 700%.

He says he will have no choice but to close the gambling portion of his business if this tax ordinance is passed. Ruston will loose the current tax income ($30,000 in 2007) and about 40 people will be laid off. Mr. Farbe notes he has struggled to make this business profitable (these taxes are based on gross receipts, not profit), especially in this current economy where "entertainment" dollars are scarce.

Mr. Farbe has called each Ruston council member, asking to talk to them face to face to try to work something out. Only Council Member Hedrick has called him back.

The council has scheduled a first reading of this ordinance for next Monday. That usually means there will be a second reading at the next regular meeting two weeks later, when the vote will be taken. They can suspend their rules and vote on the issue Monday if they choose.

No public comment is allowed before these types of actions. There is two minutes per person allowed at the end of the meeting after all business has concluded. Contact information for your council members is listed to the right on this page. These council members have often said residents can contact them at home to express their opinions, but they discourage too much discussion at the meetings.

The Tacoma Weekly has an article on this issue that was published on May 15, 2008.

Pt. Defiance Cafe Vs. Chinese Christian Church and Ruston Connection

The lawsuit brought against the Chinese Christian Church and the editors of the Ruston Connection (Virginia Carpio and Sue Hines) by the Point Defiance Cafe and Casino was settled on February 29, 2008. According to a News Tribune article, casino owner "Fabre is asking for compensation for lost business and harm to his reputation, and an injunction ordering the Louies to stop calling him a thief."

There is a confidentiality agreement, so we can't get the details. Since Pt. Defiance Casino brought the suit, I would guess the casino won some concessions from the defendants. But I'm just an amateur guessing here. Any thoughts from the rest of you?

Karen