There may be more than meets eye in gambling bill

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 30, 2007

THERE'S SO much money in Indian gaming in California that it's difficult to figure out just how lucrative the industry really is. But here's a hint: One Southern California tribe is spending $20 million to persuade the state Assembly to approve expanded casino operations.

If the Morongo Band of Mission Indians is willing to put that much money into a public relations campaign, how much do you think the gambling tribes stand to gain if the latest gambling compacts are approved by the state?

I'm just guessing here, but it has to be several billion dollars. Just look at what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state's share is going to be if gambling is expanded. The latest compacts would pay the state between

$13.4 billion to $22.4 billion over the next 25 years, according to the governor's office.

The official state estimate is that Indian gambling brings in about $7 billion annually in California. Most think it's much higher. That means the tribes will recoup the money the state gets from the new compacts in just the first few years -- and that's before calculating their take from expanded gambling.

The message here is very simple: Whatever the gambling tribes are making, it's not enough. That is why they are pushing for expanded compacts that allow them to make even more money. The governor is going along because he's trying to fill a massive budget deficit. But he's selling out too cheaply.

The problem for the gambling tribes is that the latest agreements are getting a closer look in the Assembly after they zipped through the gambling-friendly state Senate.

But there's been a backlash. The Morongo tribe's PR campaign has angered the Assembly's key leader on gaming issues. On Wednesday, Assemblyman Alberto Torrico,

D-Fremont, said the Assembly will not be "bullied" by the Riverside County tribe.

The tribe is lobbying its position through television ads around the state and by sending 500,000 pieces of mail to Assembly members. Special attention is on members who sit on the Governmental Organization Committee, which is hearing the compacts. Torrico chairs the committee.

In a news conference Wednesday, Torrico said the Morongo lobbying campaign is "unprecedented," but it will not deter the Assembly from considering all of the ramifications of the compacts.

The politically arrogant Morongo tribe now said it will fight a measure to allow lawmakers to serve longer in office if they don't approve the compacts. Morongo is now playing a very dangerous political game that borders on blackmail.

The compacts would give the five tribes an additional 22,500 slot machines. Slots are the big moneymakers in casinos. They are the reason that casinos have the ability to toss around $20 million for lobbying efforts. (A colleague calls $20 million "walking around money for the tribes." It's equivalent to the $20 or so we carry in our wallets.)

This battle could be a defining moment for Indian gaming. If the tribes push through these compacts, wide-open Las Vegas-style gambling moves closer to reality in California.

The Sacramento Bee reports that the Morongo tribe has retained high-profile consultants to help them get the compacts approved. They include former Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte; former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown and former Schwarzenegger campaign manager Steve Schmidt.

The tribes also have Jason Kinney in their corner. He's a political adviser to Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, which explains why the Senate easily approved the compacts.

If we are going to open the state to full gambling, it's time for the public to make that decision. Instead, it's occurring through a piecemeal process: One day the tribes were operating bingo parlors and suddenly they were Vegas.

Did Californians actually make that decision, or did it just slip by us on the way to the change booth?

Jim Boren writes for The Sacramento Bee.