Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) led the fight against an off-reservation casino in the Bay Area while protecting another one whose partners were close associates, The Berkeley Daily Planet reported.

McCain backed legislation that would force the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians to obtain state approval for a casino in San Pablo. The facility was supported by local officials but state officials were opposed as McCain criticized the tribe at a hearing.

The tribe might have had better luck if it hired lobbyist Wes Gullet, a former McCain staffer who currently serves as the deputy campaign manager for the senator's presidential run. Gullet advised the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians about the tribe's proposal to put a casino less than 3 miles from the Lytton site.

When McCain introduced a bill to make it harder for tribes to acquire land for casinos, it wouldn't have affected the Guidiville proposal, The New York Times reported. After the bill failed, he pushed the Bush administration to tighten land-into-trust guidelines.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued new policy in January and rejected nearly a dozen casinos in the process. But the Guidiville proposal remains alive, the Times reported.

Get the Story:
Was McCain A Key Player In Point Molate Casino? (The Berkeley Daily Planet 9/29)