"The gambling tribes running casinos in California operate with one basic rule in mind: The more money they get, the more money they want.

It's a strategy that has made their members rich and turned the tribes into a powerful special interest that is rivaled only by the public employee unions when it comes to clout in Sacramento.

Their money opens doors that had been slammed in their faces. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once said the tribes were ripping off California, now uses their money to prop up the state budget.

But as Indian gaming has become bigger in California, there have been losers. The state's horse-racing industry is almost dead and Nevada gambling interests have lost customers as the Indian casinos have become bigger and flashier. Even smaller Indian casinos are worried that the biggest gambling tribes will suck off most of the state's gambling dollars.

We've come a long way from the bingo parlors on Indian reservations. Now, average Californians can lose the rent at casinos just minutes from their homes.

This has led to a mega-gambling showdown that is expected to play out in the February primary when opponents try to block the lucrative gambling compacts that Schwarzenegger signed with four big tribes in Southern California."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Gambling profits blind state's tribes to bigger issues (The Fresno Bee 10/14)
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