Posted on 02/08/2008 9:43:16 AM PST by NormsRevenge
Southern California gamblers can try their luck this weekend on shiny new slot machines just days after voters approved four Indian gambling expansion plans.
Workers have been busy installing some of the 17,000 slot machines allowed in new deals approved by voters Tuesday for four tribes.
The new deals, known as amended compacts, allow the tribes to expand in exchange for sharing their slot-machine revenue with the state. The first payments, expected to be more than $40 million, are due to the state at the end of the fiscal year June 30, according to the governor's office's lowest estimates. That figure is based on revenue from machines that already are in use and doesn't include the new additions.
The state's general fund currently doesn't receive any slot-machine revenue from these four tribes, who are expected to have an estimated net win of more than $2 billion total on all slot machines in 2008-09, according to calculations using the governor's figures.
The tribes and Gov. Schwarzenegger estimated the slot machines will generate $9 billion for the state through 2030. Critics, who put the agreements before voters as four ballot referendums, argued the state's take could actually be as little as $3.4 billion.
The ballot referendums prompted a bruising $150 billion battle on the state's airwaves. Some tribes criticized the deals as bad for the state and bad for poor tribes and said so in TV ads.
With the four Southern California tribes far outspending their opponents, the two sides aired dueling ads until the close of polls Tuesday, including pricey Super Bowl spots. Voters, however, decided they wanted more slot machines, with 56 percent in favor of the deals and 44 percent against. Support was stronger in the Inland area.
The day after the election, the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa near Banning already had a large sandwich board on display proclaiming: "Big improvements are coming your way. New slot machines ... More varieties ... More ways to win!"
By today, 400 new machines will be in operation, and more will go in over the next few weeks, said Patrick Dorinson, a public-relations consultant for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.
"The sooner the machines come in, the sooner the state will be realizing new revenue," Dorinson said.
Yellow accordion fencing surrounded banks of gleaming machines as tool-wielding technicians knelt beside them this week.
Jason Welt and Vendela Dahl, both 33 and from Oceanside, said they were sorry they didn't get a chance to play the new machines.
"I think the new machines would be more likely to pay out," Welt said, explaining that the casino management would give the machines favorable payout rates as a way to attract customers.
Welt and Dahl said they were in favor of the gaming compacts but did not vote Tuesday.
"I think it's basically a good thing for the Indians to be self-sufficient," Dahl said.
The tribes say they'll be able to continue providing for their members under the new deals and share money with local governments to help with things like law enforcement and roads.
The Pechanga Resort & Casino has 1,500 video-bingo machines that can be switched to the more lucrative Las Vegas-style slot machines, and should have at least 400 of those converted by the weekend, said Jacob Mejia, a public-relations consultant for the tribe.
"All of them aren't going to be changed overnight," Mejia said.
The tribe plans to switch additional machines or install new ones as business needs dictate, he said.
Installers were hard at work already Wednesday at the casino near Temecula, where banks of darkened machines were scattered throughout the casino. Yellow caution tape surrounded the machines as technicians worked nearby on wooden bases for the machines.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has two casinos in the Coachella Valley and plans to start installing new machines next week at the Agua Caliente Casino near Rancho Mirage. They expect 300 to 350 to be in place by the end of the month, and probably 500 more by mid-April, said Nancy Conrad, press secretary for the tribe.
The tribe's Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs has less open floor space, and it's unclear when the Agua Caliente band will be able to install machines there, she said.
Voters also approved an expansion deal for the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County.
Good on them! Pechanga will be increasing the number of hotel rooms and adding on to the size of the casino. Good for socal business, especially in southwest Riverside County. More options for residents who don’t want to make the run up to Vegas and a reduction of lines at the slots which build up, especially on weekends.
good for them! lol
More jobs and opportunities for illegals too..
You're making a statement about Pechanga tribe which I believe you cannot sustain. However, I would welcome your evidence so that I can complain to the government.
You can take a long hike on the beach for all I care.
What do you know about the tribes of California?
Nice try. You accused them, you back it up..or not. If you have evidence, call the government. If, you don’t what’s your point?
You remind me of someone,, hmmmm.
Nice try.
haaa.
so the gubamint will take care of any irregularities, is that your take?
lol
“Big improvements are coming your way. New slot machines ... More varieties ... More ways to win!”
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Try it, You’ll like it!
It’s obvious you don’t care any more about where revenue comes from than the Gub.. maybe you have a blind trust like he does that is benefitted by gaming machine sales.
No, of course not, your’re just a long time lurker and a gramma to boot,, sweet innocent.. only want the best for your kids and grandkids and california..and its future..
yeah right.
Either you are making false accusations or you are a citizen who has knowledge of a crime and haven't reported it. If you don't have the courage to report it, give me the info and I will do so.
Stop playing cutesy games and back off or fess up.
Your personal attacks are weak attempts to take the spotlight off your dishonest posts.
What many people fail to realize is that there is not a single slot maching that is programed to pay out more than it takes in.
I can see why your hubby was so beloved by the proprietor here.
The state wins any way you cut it, and big losers pay a big chunk back to the gubamint anyway.. what a deal, huh?
We walked through a casino on St. Croiz with a gaming consultant. He told us that most machines are programmed to pay off every 8,000 pulls, except the super jackpots. So if you play a quarter and the jackpot is 1,000 quarters, the house may have made 7,000 quarters profit. Some places advertise 97% pay out.
Your a dishonest poster and are now attacking me based upon the behavior of someone else. Shouldn’t you stop the source of the smell coming from your own pile before you point out others?
Best wishes and keep those unsubstantiated attacks against Pechanga coming. Maybe someday, you'll have the majority of voters behind you.
I hope this exposure about your posting problem has not been too painful. I sure learned a lot about you.
when you resort to reading the profiue of a person you’re arguing with, you can bet you’re losing the battle.
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Oh is that right,, better to leave it blank then, huh?
Where have you been? Where do you think illegal aliens work? (Hint: construction, restaurants, hotels.... )
Are you telling me that you believe Pechanga, who through its sovereignty is under less scrutiny than other California businesses, actually screens out illegal aliens and hires none of them?
I got some beachfront property in Arizona to sell ya!
“......and a reduction of lines at the slots which build up, especially on weekends.”
....lines to play slot machines!!....is that true?...or are you using satire here?....if it’s true, then no wonder in my area (the Carolinas) folks are trying to get themselves recognised as an “Indian tribe”
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