Tribal Housing: From Deregulation To Disgrace -- Federal Aid For The Wealthy

LEDYARD, Conn. - A choir of 4,500 trilling slot machines greets the stream of customers entering the Foxwoods Resort Casino, one of the biggest gambling complexes in North America.

It's the sound of success for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, whose investment in gaming four years ago has turned into a billion-dollar business.

Poverty was wiped out virtually overnight when the tiny tribe opened the doors to this hotel-and-entertainment complex on its reservation in the woodsy countryside southeast of Hartford.

The tony complex features 21 restaurants, 592 hotel rooms and its centerpiece: a sprawling casino with nearly six acres of gaming tables.

The tribe's 383 members get a generous share of the multimillion-dollar profits. They won't reveal how much, but Pequot spokesman Bruce MacDonald says, "There are no low-income tribal members anymore."

However, the financial boon hasn't stopped the tribe from taking and spending a $1.5 million federal handout: a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to build 15 houses for tribal members.

The money is earmarked for low-income Native Americans, and would be a godsend for the nation's many impoverished tribes.

But $1.5 million was a drop in the bucket for the Pequots, not enough to build the upscale homes its members wanted. So the tribe added a million dollars of its own to make the houses bigger and better.

How this wealthy Native-American