Opinion: Negotiate better deal with gaming tribes

Monday, February 4, 2008  

"Remember when Californians voted in 1998 to approve Indian gaming? Most of us thought we were giving Native Americans throughout the state an opportunity to lift themselves out of decades of poverty. Now, 10 years later, we have Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97, which would uphold agreements between the state and four Indian tribes that never should have been approved by the Legislature and the governor.

These compacts are basically identical, except each covers a different tribe -- the Pechanga, Morongo, Agua Caliente and Sycuan. They would increase the amount of revenue the tribes get and the number of slot machines they could operate -- an additional 17,000. That's more than the number of slot machines at 12 big Las Vegas casinos -- such as the Bellagio and the MGM Grand -- put together.

As one of the largest expansions of gambling in U.S. history, these agreements would not be the rising tide to lift all boats, which is what voters had in mind when they approved Indian gaming. What we'd get instead is a tidal wave that would lift just four yachts. The four tribes are already wealthy and powerful enough to have put more than $100 million into the campaign to pass these deals.

The tribes aren't even pretending to sell this as a matter of justice or equity. It's all about money. The only reason being given to vote yes is that the tribes would pay some portion of their profits to the state."

Get the Story:
Marty Hittelman: We need a better deal with tribes (The Los Angeles Times 2/2)
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