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October 23, 2019
Via U.S. Mail & Facsimile

Shannon Wilmeth, Interim Executive Director
Comanche Nation Gaming Commission

1915 E. Gore Blvd.

Lawton, OK 73501

Fax: 580-269-1157

Re: Review of Consulting Agreement for the
Comanche Nation Gaming Commission

Dear Ms. Wilmeth:

This letter responds to the November 19, 2018, request on behalf of the Comanche
Nation Gaming Commission for the National Indian Gaming Commission’s Office of General
Counsel to review a Master Service Agreement. Specifically, you have asked for my opinion on
whether the Agreement is a management contract requiring the NIGC Chair’s approval under the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. You also asked for an opinion whether the agreement violates
IGRA’s requirement that a tribe have the sole proprietary interest in its gaming operation.

In my review, I considered the following document submitted on behalf of the Nation
which was unexecuted, but was represented to be in substantially final form:

e “Master Service Agreement,” marked as “MSA 20180117...EXE MSA 2.0
66141 (Comanche Nation) 20181011 V3 JB”

Unfortunately, confining my review to the four corners of the documents, I am unable to
opine on the Agreement because it lacks sufficient detail related to the services being provided
and costs of those services. Therefore, I am unable to provide an opinion on whether or not the
Agreement is a management contract or violates the sole proprietary interest requirement.

Should the parties enter into additional agreements, which provide the specific details of
the services being provided and the cost of those services, please feel free to submit those
agreements for review. I'd ask that the parties include this contract for consideration with any
future submissions.

Please note that it is my intent that this letter be released to the public through the
NIGC’s website. If you have any objection to this disclosure, please provide a written statement

NEW MAILING ADDRESS: NIGC/DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop #1621 Washington, DC 20240 Tel: 202.632.7003 Fax: 202.632.7066

REGIONAL OFFICES Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; Phi AZ; St. Paul, MN; Tulsa, OK; Oklahome City, OK

WWW.NIGC.GOV


Shannon Wilmeth, Interim Executive Director

Re: Review of Master Service Agreement on behalf of the Comanche Gaming Commission
October 22, 2019

Page 2 of 2

explaining the grounds for the objection and highlighting the information that you believe should
be withheld. See 25 C.F.R. § 517.7(c). If you object on the grounds that the information qualifies
as confidential commercial information subject to withholding under Exemption Four of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), please be advised that any
withholding should be analyzed under the standard set forth in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus
Leader Media, No. 18-481, 2019 WL 2570624, at *7 (U.S., June 24, 2019). Any claim of
confidentiality should also be supported with “a statement or certification by an officer or
authorized representative of the submitter.” See 25 C.F.R. § 517.7(d). Please submit any written
objection to FOIASubmitterReply@nige.gov within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter.
After this time elapses, the letter will be made public and objections will no longer be
considered. /d.

If you have any questions, please contact NIGC Staff Attorney Heather McMillan Nakai
at (202) 527-5577.

Sincerely,

Michal ,

Michael Hoenig
General Counsel