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Forget Class III gaming. The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians has hit the jackpot with Class II machines.

The tribe had signed a compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) for a large, Class III facility. But when lawmakers failed to ratify the deal, the tribe installed several hundred Class II machines and is now on track to gross more than $100 million in its first year of operation.

According to The San Diego Union Tribune, each machine grosses more than $330 a day, more than double the take for slot machines in Las Vegas. “The numbers speak for themselves,” the tribe's attorney told the paper.

To open the casino, the tribe acquired a former card club in the Bay Area through an act of Congress. The law allowed the tribe to skirt the normal review process for gaming on lands taken into trust after 1988.

The tactic sparred opposition, litigation and a bill that would force the tribe to go through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act process.

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Casino finds a wild card in knockoff slots (The San Diego Union-Tribune 5/27)