Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Companies starting to ship Nevada-style slots to California

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Newly legal Las Vegas-style slot machines have started arriving at California Indian casinos.

Some of the first slots were delivered last week to the Barona Indian reservation near San Diego. They were inside 18-wheel trucks that arrived from Nevada.

"It's been 17 years of struggle," said Joe Welch Sr., chairman of the tribe's gaming commission. "But it's all been worth it."

State voters in March approved a constitutional amendment giving tribes exclusive rights to operate Nevada-style slot machines. In May, California Indian tribes won federal approval of gambling agreements that some 60 tribes signed with Gov. Gray Davis, which was the last step to legalizing their casinos.

The Barona tribe is one of several throughout the state rushing to install the slot machines, which offer higher jackpots.

"We're going to be able to attract people who would go to Las Vegas but have never come to an Indian casino before," said Lee Skelley, assistant general manager of Barona's casino operations. "Anything you could do in Las Vegas, you're going to be able to do here."

That's creating a new market for slot machine manufacturers. Slot giant International Game Technology of Reno announced last week it has begun initial shipments of slots to several tribal casinos in California. In June, IGT expects to ship more than 1,500 machines into California.

"This is an important day for our company," said Tom Baker, IGT president and chief operating officer. "These first machine shipments mark the opening of a major new market for IGT's products."

Licensed Nevada slot manufacturers have been unable to ship to California until now. Since gambling was not legal in California before May, slot makers would have jeopardized their Nevada licenses by shipping to that market.

Barona and other tribes are also taking advantage of new rules that allow the casino to act as the house in card games. Barona, for example, is introducing new card games and raising the betting limits on games such as blackjack and pai gow to $1,000. High-rollers can gamble at card tables with $5,000 per-hand limits.

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