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Schwarzenegger signs deals with tribes for more slot machines
| Wednesday, Aug 30 2006 11:15 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Aug 30 2006 11:15 AM
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once opposed unlimited expansion of gambling on Indian lands, signed deals with three tribes allowing them to install thousands of new slot machines.
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The amended state gaming contracts, signed Monday night and announced Tuesday, would allow three tribes to increase the number of slots from 2,000 to 7,500 each.
The largest casinos in Las Vegas only have 3,000 slot machines.
In return, the agreements increase the amount of casino revenues the tribes will pay into the state general fund by tens of millions of dollars a year.
The contracts require approval from the U.S. Department of Interior and ratification by the state Legislature. It was unclear whether such passage could happen before state lawmakers adjourned on Thursday.
Schwarzenegger, who demanded during his 2003 campaign that tribes pay a "fair share" of their gambling profits to California, called the agreements "a great deal for the state, the tribe and the local communities."
On Tuesday, the state Senate gave final approval to another compact that would allow the Quechan Tribe to operate up to 1,100 slot machines at a casino on its reservation in southeastern California. The tribe had been limited to 349 slots.
The Assembly approved the Quechan deal last week.
The deals might also help the Republican governor quiet some of his opposition as the November election approaches. Indian tribes have spent $220 million on campaigns since 1998, with much of it going to Democrats.
The contracts, which run through 2030, authorize the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to increase the number of slot machines at their casinos by 5,500 each.
The lucrative machines have helped lift the tribes, located in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, from poverty.
"It gives us, again, another 10 years, at least, of a revenue stream," said Jacob Coin, spokesman for the San Manuel tribe.
The contracts require the tribes to pay revenue to the state on a sliding scale, depending on how many slot machines they choose to operate. The state could collect more than $500 million a year, or well over $13 billion over the span of the contracts.
The administration also approved a deal for the Yurok tribe in Northern California to operate 99 slot machines.
On Monday, the state Assembly voted down another Schwarzenegger administration deal with the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians in Riverside County, although a second vote was possible.
That deal would have permitted the tribe to add a third casino and 3,000 new slots.