Gaming Research Group Elects Choctaw Chief To Board

Jan 12, 2000

KANSAS CITY, MO—Phillip Martin, tribal chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Gaming Entertainment Research and Education Foundation. The foundation supports scientific research on problem and underage gambling through the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG).

Martin joins the foundation’s 20-member board of directors, a distinguished group of educators, scientists, health care professionals, civic leaders and gaming industry executives.

‘We are honored that Chief Martin has agreed to serve on the board,’ said Maj. Gen. Paul A. Harvey (Ret.), chairman of the foundation. ‘As chief of one of the most successful tribes in the U.S., he brings outstanding leadership qualities to our work.’ Harvey said it is important for the foundation ‘to be aware of the perspectives of the Indian tribes involved in commercial gaming.’

Martin has been chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians for 40 years. He is credited with the transformation of the rural reservation into a vast economic machine that ranks as one of the state’s largest employers. In 1994, the Mississippi Choctaws launched the successful Silver Star Resort & Casino in Philadelphia, Miss.

The Gaming Entertainment Research and Education Foundation raises funds for scientific research grants awarded through its division, the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). An independent, nonprofit organization, the NCRG has awarded $2.6 million in grants in support of research on gambling disorders and youth gambling since its establishment in 1996.