"Last summer, Schwarzenegger struck deals with five Southern California tribes allowing them to expand their gambling operations well beyond their original limits. From 10,000 slot machines, they would be able to install 32,000 — enough to make some of these California gambling palaces far bigger than any Las Vegas casino. In return, they would have to give the state up to 25% of the revenue from the new machines. Opinions differ about how much money this would add to state coffers, but even the most conservative estimate suggests that it would amount to at least half a billion dollars a year within three to 10 years.

The growth of Indian casinos has prompted a lot of worries across the state, some legitimate and some less so. Neighbors whose communities are overrun with casino traffic have a legitimate beef, though they should be pleased with the governor's compacts; while formerly the tribes weren't required to do anything about such local effects, now they have to perform environmental studies and negotiate with local governments before expanding. The casinos haven't ended poverty on reservations, and the revenues they generate haven't been shared evenly, but they have brought hope and economic development to what were once tribal wastelands.

It's time for the Assembly to fold; the compacts are good for the tribes and taxpayers."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Let casinos expand (The Los Angeles Times 5/5)
pwday