Schwarzenegger Signs More Gambling Deals for California
LOS ANGELES (AP)– Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once opposed unlimited expansion of gambling on Indian lands, has signed deals with several tribes allowing them to install tens of thousands of new slot machines.
The latest of the amended state gambling compacts were announced Wednesday _ two agreements that would allow the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to install up to 3,000 new slot machines at its El Cajon casino and resort, and the Yurok Tribe to install the first 99 slot machines on its reservation in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
Earlier in the week, the administration announced deals allowing three other tribes to increase the number of slots they operate from 2,000 to 7,500 each.
The largest casinos in Las Vegas only have 3,000 slot machines. In return, the agreements substantially increase the amount of casino revenue tribes pay annually to the state’s general fund. Over the life of the contracts, which typically last 30 years, the deals could send tens of billions of dollars to the state’s coffers.
The contracts require approval from the U.S. Department of Interior and ratification by the state Legislature. It was unclear how many of the pacts might be approved by lawmakers before they adjourn on Thursday. Opposition arose from family values and anti-gambling groups, as well as labor unions.
Schwarzenegger, who demanded during his 2003 campaign that tribes pay a "fair share" of their gambling profits to California, has called each of the amended compacts a great deal for "the state, the tribe and the local communities."
