CHEWELAH, Wash. (AP) - The sound is unmistakable as one enters the Spokane Tribe's modest casino in Chewelah: Silver coins striking silver trays, a metallic river of cash.

In Washington, this sound is illegal, and it's one reason there is so much controversy surrounding a new deal between the state and the Spokane Tribe of Indians.

The agreement, in the works for nearly 20 years, finally brings the Spokanes under the same regulatory umbrella as the rest of the tribes in Washington. But critics say it was at the cost of a dramatic expansion in casino operations that seems to reward the Spokanes for operating outside the system.

The Spokanes dispute that suggestion.

"This compact promises to benefit our tribe and the entire region," said Gerald Nicodemus, secretary of the Spokane Tribal Council, after Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the agreement in mid-February.

The Spokanes have been the only tribe in the state that operated casinos without a compact. They also had popular Las Vegas-style slot machines, which are banned in the state, at their casinos here and near the Columbia River. The machines accept cash and spit out quarters at winners, instead of the tickets that other slot machines print out.

Anxious to undertake a dramatic expansion after years of court fights, the Spokanes struck a deal with the state that allows them to open several new casinos, operate thousands of additional slot machines, and offer much higher wagering than other tribes are currently allowed.

The tribe is also expected to pursue federal approval to build a lavish new casino near the city limits of Spokane, miles from its reservation.

Critics say that with other tribes certain to get the same deal as the Spokanes, this will lead to a major increase in Indian gaming.

"This compact adds more gambling machines to this state, encourages gambling expansion by other tribes and rewards illegal operations," said state Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, an opponent of the deal. "This is not the direction this state wants to go."

The pact, which still needs federal approval, will allow the Spokanes to operate as many as five casinos, with as many as 4,700 video gambling machines and higher wagers allowed at some tables.

The state plans to allow similar expansion for other tribes, although nearly all tribes will be held to two casinos.

The agreement was reached by the tribe, the state Gambling Commission and the governor after more than a decade of strife. The tribe has been the last holdout against negotiating a compact and at times has operated illegal slot machines.

The state plans to amend other tribal compacts within a month to incorporate most of the features of the Spokane pact.

Statewide, the number of gambling machines at tribal casinos could rise from 18,225 to about 25,000, including the Spokane machines and modest increases at the other locations.

Twenty tribes operate 25 casinos, generating $1.2 billion a year in revenue.

The Spokane tribe operates two casinos, one at Chewelah and the other at the confluence of the Columbia and Spokane rivers.

The tribe in northeast Washington has 2,441 members and increasingly relies on casino income to provide jobs, health care, education and social services.

The Spokanes next hope to pursue winning rare federal approval to create a $67 million casino-hotel near the Spokane suburb of Airway Heights. The federal government has only approved three such casinos in the nation, one of them in Airway Heights that belongs to the Kalispel tribe.

The Spokanes contend that the Kalispel's lavish casino, which includes numerous restaurants and a busy concert hall, has sharply cut into their business.

"We've had competition from the Airway Heights facility and our revenues dropped dramatically," Nicodemus said, forcing the Spokanes to cut health and human services programs.

"We want to take care of our own," he said.

The Kalispel Tribe supported the Spokane's new compact with the state, said April Pierre, a member of the Kalispel's and spokeswoman for their casino.

She noted the process of getting approval from the federal government to offer off-reservation gambling was long and arduous, and wouldn't comment on the Spokane Tribe's future plans.

"We feel we have a proven product and this community supported that product," she said.

But state lawmakers made clear they would adamantly oppose any plans by the Spokanes to expand off their reservation.

"It will never make it through the Department of the Interior," predicted state Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, a member of the state Gambling Commission.

Honeyford sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, asking him to turn down the Spokane's Airway Heights casino request.

"Only three tribes in the nation have been allowed such an off-reservation facility, one of them in Washington State," Honeyford wrote. "If the Spokanes are approved, half of all off-reservation gaming in the nation will be located in Washington."

Scott Crowell, legal counsel to the Spokanes for 20 years, said it was federal court rulings against the state that allowed the tribe to operate without a compact all these years. During an acrimonious hearing before the gambling commission earlier this year, Crowell said the tribe seeks a good relationship with the state.

"Our intention is to bury the hatchet, not to swing it," Crowell said.