U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued a decision Monday to stay a lawsuit by the State of Idaho against the Coeur d'Alene Tribe regarding the Tribe's gaming operations.

The State Attorney General filed a temporary restraining order May 2 to force the Tribe to cease offering poker, pending a lawsuit. The Tribe has continued to offer the Texas hold 'em-style poker game, maintaining its position that the game is one of skill as opposed to one of chance - which would be in violation of state law.

"The court agreed with our interpretation of the gaming compact and reinforced what we've been saying all along," Tribal attorney Eric Van Orden said in a prepared statement. "That the state jumped the gun and violated the provisions of our agreement when it raced to the courthouse with this unnecessary lawsuit.

"We believe we have the legal right to offer poker," Van Orden said.

The compact requires that in the event of a dispute "the party asserting non-compliance shall serve written notice on the other party" and the state and the Tribe must meet within 10 working days.

The state notified the Tribe of its grievance one day before the May 2 lawsuit filing.

The compact also stipulates pursuing arbitration before seeking legal recourse.

"We are in the process of reviewing the judge's decision and trying to determine what it means for us going forward," said Todd Dvorak, spokesman for the office of the Idaho Attorney General.

Dvorak refused to speculate on the prospect of state lawyers pursuing arbitration.

Heather Keen, director of public relations for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, said the tribe is willing to arbitrate and has been all along, but that "it is the aggrieved party who should be involving arbitration."

"We're pleased with the court's initial ruling and we hope the state will try to approach these types of issues in a more productive manner moving forward," Van Orden said.