Seminole Hold 'Em

There's no popular movement toward scaling back all those generous portions of Indian law, nor toward increasing federal oversight of Indian casinos, and so American legislators are under no pressure to make those reforms.

But it could happen. All it would take is one scandal. It could be a case in which an American family is stymied by Indian laws, as with the Grosso and Osorio families. Or there could be one particularly flagrant abuse of the Indians' advantages in the business world.

C. STILES

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"I think it's all part of the same package," says Vogel, the financial analyst and Indian gaming author. "They are getting closer to the point where there's going to be a political backlash."

But for a Seminole nation that's rich and getting richer, it may be hard to see that danger. In public statements at least, there's no tone of compromise.

"The concept of sovereign immunity — it's important to the tribe, to all Indian tribes," tribal spokesman Bitner says. "And it's not something the Seminoles, or any Indians, are going to give away lightly, if at all."