Consultant: California Tribes Could Reap Huge Benefits

As reported by the North County Times: "Pechanga Casino and some of its peers in Southern California could reap mixed but potentially large benefits by following a Coachella Valley Indian tribe's push for expanded casinos on its land, industry consultants said Thursday.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians signed a compact earlier this week that would allow the tribe to add 3,000 new slot machines to the 2,000 it already has at casinos in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage.

"In exchange, the tribe agreed to pay the state 15 percent of its winnings on the new machines, amounting to as much $1.8 billion over 24 years.

"…For the Pechanga Indians and other tribes that already operate as many slot machines as allowed by existing agreements, a higher cap could be a boon, the consultants said. Though Agua Caliente is expected to give the state a larger cut from its new machines than from the old, Agua Caliente and tribes that cut similar deals are bound to benefit, said I. Nelson Rose, a Whittier Law School professor who works with gaming tribes including Pechanga."

2006-08-11