Indian Casino

Your July 27 editorial regarding the misguided Juaneno Indians' proposal to build a Las Vegas-style casino was right on target. But Bill Henrietta's letter in the same edition was off base when he wrote that casinos could bring a "real survival plan for cities." This could not be further from the truth. The only real winners in the San Juan Capistrano situation would be the Las Vegas developers who are trying desperately to get a toehold in gambling interests here in Orange County.

Re "A bad bet on Indian casinos," Editorial, Aug. 19 I understand concerns over the potential negative consequences if Indian gaming is permitted to expand to areas far from tribal lands. On the other hand, there is a valid question as to whether the prosperity of a tribe should depend on mere fortuity. There are far more impoverished Native Americans in California than there are those who are thriving. The conduct of the relatively fortunate few who have benefited from Proposition 1A and other changes in the law shows they have no intention of sharing their newfound wealth.

Boosting the already expanding Indian casino industry, a federal judge on Monday upheld a California ballot measure that granted tribes a monopoly on slot machines and other Nevada-style games of chance. U.S. District Judge David F. Levi of Sacramento rejected a lawsuit by four Bay Area card rooms challenging the state's right to allow highly profitable slot machines and other Nevada-style casino games on Indian reservations, while denying them to card rooms not on tribal land.

There is just one part of the Aug. 19 editorial " A bad bet on Indian casinos ” that we agree on: “There should be some flexibility for tribes ... left in poverty because their reservations happen to be in particularly hard-to-reach locations .... That could include allowing a small number of off-reservation casinos that are not close to urbanized areas. " That's exactly what Congress intended when it permitted -- in rare circumstances, after rigorous review and as a matter of social justice -- tribes with no or unusable land to petition to take land into trust for tribal gaming.

Indian gambling pulled in $18.5 billion in 2004, nearly double the take for Nevada's gambling industry, as tribal casinos boomed ahead, according to a report from the National Indian Gaming Assn. The 10% increase extended more than a decade of double-digit growth for the nation's Indian casinos, which have mushroomed since Congress passed a law creating the legal framework in 1988. There now are 411 Indian casinos in the United States, operated by 223 tribes in 28 states.

Gov. Scott McCallum refused to let three small Chippewa Indian bands build an off-reservation casino on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border even though the Bush administration had approved it. McCallum, a Republican, said the proposed casino in Hudson was "not in the best interests of the tribes, local communities or the state's citizens." "I am completely sympathetic with [the tribes'] motivation of creating an economic stimulus," he said.

The managers of the casino on the Morongo Indian Reservation near Palm Springs were indicted Wednesday for allegedly operating illegal slot machines--and skimming millions of dollars from the Morongo tribe in the process.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Assn., a union representing thousands of employees, has warned its members and the public to stay away from the Soboba Indian casino near San Jacinto because of recent violence. The group urged its roughly 3,700 members to visit other casinos until the situation at Soboba was "stabilized."

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Saturday endorsed the first state-sanctioned Indian casino in California--approving a pact that most of the other gambling tribes oppose. The four-page endorsement, signed by Kevin Gover, the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs under Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, gave the federal imprimatur to a controversial compact between Gov. Pete Wilson and the Pala Band of Mission Indians, allowing the San Diego County tribe to open a reservation casino.

Racetracks that want to add slot machines to their enterprises through a November ballot measure filed a lawsuit Thursday aimed at derailing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's deals granting five Indian tribes the right to unlimited numbers of slots. Tracks and card rooms backing Proposition 68 also announced a statewide television ad blitz beginning today in support of the initiative, which could end tribes' monopoly on Las Vegas-style gambling in the state.

Indian gambling has brought long-needed financial gains to Native American tribes as well as a measure of painful internal strife. In California, reservations where dilapidated mobile homes once dominated the landscape are now dotted with attractive new housing developments, playgrounds, and community, health and fitness centers. At the same time, according to academics and other experts on tribal affairs, gambling wealth has given new impetus to the disenrollment of thousands of California's Native Americans from their tribes by others who want to maximize their share of the money.

The issue hasn't gotten much statewide attention, but Gov. Jerry Brown has a decision to make on Indian gambling that could have major impacts down the road for the casino landscape. And that's the literal meaning of casino landscape. Previously, tribes with existing reservations have located their casinos on those reservations. Now, two tribes whose reservations are in difficult-to-access locations are seeking to build casinos miles from those reservations, near Northern California cities (Madera and Marysville)

An improved economy and lower unemployment rates boosted revenue at American Indian gaming casinos in 2010, helping them rebound from their first ever drop in revenue a year earlier, a report said. The 1% increase in gambling revenue generated by 448 American Indian facilities in 2010 marks a rebound from the 1% decline in revenue in 2009, according to a study released Tuesday by Alan Meister, an economist with Arlington, Va.-based Nathan Associates Inc. Non-gambling revenue, such as spending on food and entertainment at casinos, increased 0.3% in 2010.

I was checking on the earthquake kit the other day ? you know, sampling the gin to be sure it hadn't gone bad ? when in pops the college girl, back for spring break. She assumed I was sneaking a little hooch when all I was doing was looking out for my family. Obviously, a lot of the selfless things I do go totally unappreciated (though I did notice that our emergency kit is almost all booze). "Hi, Dad. " "Burp. " "Miss me?" "Of course not. " There was upheaval almost immediately.

California's $7-billion Indian gambling industry endured a sizable drop in revenue during the recession, but tribal casino operators say an improving economy has helped them slowly rebound. In the last year, Indian casino guests have begun to spend more at slot machines and card tables and in adjoining hotels, generating enough revenue to pay for expansions and new attractions and once again hire staff, casino operators say. Tribal gambling revenue and profit are rarely reported publicly and industry estimates are often late as a result.

Indian casinos in California will be allowed to add more than 3,000 new slot machines, a state commission has decided. The state's gaming commission agreed to the new slot machines after a federal court ruled that some Indian casinos were due them under contracts signed with the state. Most of the new slots will go to Northern California tribes, but some new machines will go to casinos in northern San Diego County and the Inland Empire. According to the California Gambling Control Commission, the machines are going to: Big Sandy Band Rancheria of Mono Indians, 1,650; Blue Lake Rancheria, 40; Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 44; Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, 427; Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, 100; Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians, 45; Paskenta Band of Nomalki Indians, 27; Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, 200; Rincon Band of San Luiseno Mission Indians, 400; San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians, 428; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, 187. Some officials hope the new slots will increase revenue to the cash-strapped state.

A suddenly recalcitrant Legislature refused Thursday, on its final day in session, to pass Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's major expansion of Indian gambling and his proposed changes to California's prison system. After months of unusual cooperation with the Republican governor, Democratic leaders put off votes, probably until next year, on deals with four wealthy Indian tribes that hope to more than double the size of their casinos, and one with a poor tribe that has no casino.

A group of business people on Friday sent a letter to four Orange County and California congressional leaders urging them to "stop or delay" federal recognition of the Juanenos Band of Mission Indians and halt development of an Indian casino here. Concerned Citizens of South Orange County, which has about 30 members, called for an investigation of the band's intentions, said Fred Amendariz, the group's executive director.

Re "Stacked deck," editorial, Sept. 15 The Times' editorial too hastily criticizes the Legislature's effort to rein in the growing industry of unregulated charity casino bingo. The editorial failed to mention that operators of these machines are not currently subject to any regulatory oversight, nor is there any requirement to pay the charities a reasonable percentage of their income. The California attorney general said in May that these electronic bingo devices are unlawful under the California Penal Code and no longer should be used.