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I haven’t paid much attention to this issue, but it seems to me that if California is going to go all-out with Casinos instead of just have them in isolated Indian Reservation areas, then we ought to have real casinos, with sports betting, all the games, not just blackjack, and let people other than Indians make all the money. Why the pretense?

if California is going to go all-out with Casinos instead of just have them in isolated Indian Reservation areas, then we ought to have real casinos, with sports betting, all the games, not just blackjack,

I agree. It would be a whole lot more honest to just put an initiative on the ballot to legalize gambling. The casinos would sure be a lot more fun than the ones now.

... and let people other than Indians make all the money. Why the pretense?

Indians can claim sovereignty, significantly reducing the level of monitoring and enforcement that can be imposed by the State. It doesn't seem to matter that the Indian casinos are run by Las Vegas interests now (who definitely make a huge chunk of those profits), as long as it is on sovereign land.

The propositions do more than simply add 17,000 slot machines. They increase the percentage of revenue that the state gets from the casinos. While that increased revenue will not balance the budget, it will help until we get a Republican majority in the state senate to reduce spending.

The opposition to the measures is being paid for by the casino owners in Las Vegas.

I also agree that casinos should be allowed across the state and not just on reservation property but that proposition has failed miserably several times and has no hope for passing.

When the county of Santa Barbara and city of Solvang granted the Chumash Indians land for a reservation, they gave them the worst possible land, literally in a ditch. The Chumash have turned that ditch into the most valuable land in the area and are attempting to buy adjoining property to expand their reservation. The cities in that area benefit from the generosity and lavish donations by the Chumash to local charities yet they distrust their desire for additional land.

I haven’t paid much attention to this issue, but it seems to me that if California is going to go all-out with Casinos instead of just have them in isolated Indian Reservation areas, then we ought to have real casinos, with sports betting, all the games, not just blackjack, and let people other than Indians make all the money. Why the pretense?

The Indian Casino my family goes to on a regular basis (Thunder Valley in Lincoln, CA) has most table games including black jack, 3 card poker, pai gow, baccarat, etc. No sports better (yet), but give it time. And they have more slot machines than your average casino in Reno or Tahoe.

And it's increased the growth of the city of Lincoln, and the neighboring city of Roseville. Traffic's a problem now, but that's because the state and city haven't kept up in over 3 decades. Roseville is a shoppers paradise with just about every major big box store (and several medium sized box stores) located in a 2 mile radius.

I especially like the “No” ads that show a bunch of sad-looking Indians from the “non-gaming tribes” who are totally cut out of the deal. If they’re so poor, who’s paying for the ads?

Then I try to imagine Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse wrapping their heads around the concept of “gaming” or “non-gaming”.