Editorial: Enough - Put a halt to new tribal casinos in California

Beyond Sacramento County and the Wilton Miwok, the state needs to send a message to Congress and the president – enough. California is home to more than 100 recognized tribes and 67 casinos. Another 78 or so would-be tribal entities are seeking federal recognition, all with an eye toward building casinos. Meanwhile, more than a dozen tribes, many of them newly recognized like the Wilton Miwoks, are either shopping for land or poised to build new casinos.

Our region is saturated with big Indian gambling houses. There's Cache Creek in Yolo County, Thunder Valley just outside Roseville, Jackson Rancheria in Amador County, Red Hawk in Shingle Springs, Mooretown and Berry Creek in Butte County. And now, the Wilton Rancheria Miwoks envision building a casino that would rival Thunder Valley in size.

When California voters approved an Indian gambling initiative 15 years ago, they were told it would lead to a modest increase in gambling in the state. The gambling boom that followed has been anything but modest. It's time to call a halt to new casinos and to begin a thorough examination of the law and its impacts both on tribes and California's non-Indian citizens.