Wednesday, June 3, 2009

San Pasqual: Suing our State for chance to take more cash

YES, this is the same tribe that the BIA recently invalidated their elections.


The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians is seeking $550 million from the state over the number of slot machines allowed at Valley View Casino, it was reported Tuesday.

In a claim filed Monday, the tribe says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused to allow San Pasqual the 2,000 Las Vegas-style slot machines it was promised in a 1999 gambling compact, The North County Times reported. Valley View currently has 1,574 machines.

"We are just asking for what was established to be ours according to the language of the 1999 compact," San Pasqual Chairman Allen Lawson said in a written statement.

However, the state has a different interpretation of what the compact allows.

Because California gets revenue from slot machine license fees, Schwarzenegger has used a lower number of licenses to draw tribes into negotiations for more cash in exchange for more machines, the Times reported.

A federal judge ruled that there should be a total of 42,700 machines available throughout California but the state has limited the number to 32,151.

The judge's ruling is under appeal.

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