SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Super Tuesday ballot proved super favorable for four California tribes when voters gave the green light on Feb. 5 for what will be the biggest casino expansion since tribal gaming was legalized eight years ago.
Under Propositions 94 and 95, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians now have leeway to add up to 7,500 slot machines at their casinos – up from 2,000 per the 1999 compact.
Likewise, under Propositions 96 and 97, the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians could add an additional 3,000 slot machines.
With the passage of the compacts, the tribes are free to add Nevada-style slot machine to their establishments. Roger Salazar, spokesman for the tribes, said that per terms of the compacts, the four tribes are required to dish out $130 million each year to the state’s General Fund.
And for each slot machine, they must contribute 15 to 25 percent in revenue to the state.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the only way the tribes could lower or eliminate their payment would be if the state allowed a non-tribal entity to operate slots or add certain card games in nearby areas.
The promise of additional revenue for the Golden State could help ease the burden of a projected $14.5 billion budget deficit. Reports estimate that the gaming propositions could result in $9 billion for the state’s General Fund over the next 22 years.
”Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97 will give California billions more for public safety, education and other vital services without any additional taxes or new debt,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, during a press conference prior to the election.
The SDF also covers shortfalls in the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. The state currently distributes $1.1 million per year via the RSTF to each of the 71 federally recognized Indian tribes in California that have no casino or a small casino with less than 350 slot machines.
”Basically, the state decided it wanted it in the General Fund as opposed to the Special Distribution Fund,” Salazar said.
Adam Day, assistant tribal manager for the Sycuan Band, said while direct payments into the SDF would cease, the tribes are required to offset this by increasing funding to the RSTF, in addition to the revenue promised to the state.
The new measures also call for tribes to pay for any environmental impacts on the surrounding community that could result as a direct result of an expansion, he said.
Meanwhile, Day said that the tribe has no plans to jump into an expansion of the Sycuan Casino. ”The tribe has to be really careful about how and when they expand, but the marketplace, we believe, is able to support more slot machines,” he said.
Media representatives from Pechanga, Morongo and Agua Caliente were unavailable for comment at press time.
Prior to the reaching the ballot, the four compacts were negotiated with Gov. Schwarzenegger and ratified by both houses of the Legislature this past summer; but, opposition for the measures began to mount, and next came a campaign to petition voters to take it to the Feb. 5 ballot.
Opposition initially came from the Pala Band of Mission Indians and the United Auburn Indian Community, a casino workers union, and the owners of the Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows race tracks. They cumulatively spent nearly $40 million trying to sway voters. The four tribes advocating the ballot measures spent more than $110 million – becoming the most expensive ballot campaign in state history.
The opposition said that a mammoth expansion of the four casinos could devastate smaller gaming tribes, and there was no clear distinction on how the revenue would be earmarked for spending. They even created the Web site nounfairdeals.com to garner support. Media representatives for the NO campaign were unavailable for comment.
Salazar said that even though revenue goes straight into the state’s coffers, the tribes would meet with their city officials to discuss the additional funding for infrastructure and fire and police services. ”Any time they do anything that affects the surrounding community, the tribes have to increase their compensation to local government,” he said.
A study conducted by Alan Meister, Ph.D., an economist with Analysis Group Inc., focused on the potential economic and fiscal benefits of the ballot measures. His study found that $116 billion in economic output would occur, along with $44.5 billion in wages created, and the potential for the creation of nearly 900,000 new jobs.
Meister’s report also found that California’s tribal gaming industry has grown into one of the largest in the world. It generated nearly $8 billion in 2006, and those numbers are expected to grow as casinos expand under the new compacts.
