1/4/2024 0 Comments Casinos owned by tribes![]() There are now more than 80 tribal casinos in California that haul in an estimated $8 billion a year in revenues, virtually equal to Nevada’s storied gambling industry, with most of that money coming from slot machines, the financial mainstay of any casino. “California Indians were playing for time and as money poured into their new casinos, which grew larger and more elaborate, they were able to hire top-drawer legal and political talent, and become big-time players in the Capitol’s own political casino,” Michael and I wrote. They triumphed by cleverly pushing the envelope with types of gambling of dubious legality - slot machines, especially - and then fending off efforts by state authorities to crack down long enough to use their gambling profits on ballot measures to legalize what they had been doing. When retired lobbyist Jay Michael and I wrote a book about political power shifts two decades ago, we devoted one chapter to the dramatic evolution of California’s Indian tribes from repression and abject poverty to having a legal monopoly on casino gambling.Īfter Southern California’s Cabazon tribe prevailed in a 1987 US Supreme Court decision, tribes moved quickly from bingo parlors in tents to substantial - and eventually massive - casino resorts, despite opposition from other gambling interests, such as horse racing tracks, cardrooms and even Las Vegas casinos. California Indian tribes that already have a monopoly on casino gambling in California now want to expand into sports betting. ![]()
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