Indian gaming has not reached limit of slot machines

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 6:51 a.m.

An agreement that took effect last May allowed Las Vegas-style casinos on reservations and included a limit on the number of slot machines. Critics called the agreement too vague and difficult to enforce because there was no clear figure on the number of slot machines already in operation.

Gov. Gray Davis' administration said the agreement with the tribes that was ratified by voters last March allowed 61 Indian tribes to have a total of 45,206 slot machines. It also requires the tribes that have gambling establishments to contribute to a fund benefiting other nongambling tribes.

There are now 62 nations in the agreement, and the 39 tribes that run gaming facilities have a total of 25,196 machines in operation, according to numbers released by Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

Before the agreement took effect, there were 19,137 slot machines in operation. The tribes conducted a draw last year for the rights to additional slot machines, and some critics pushed for the count of machines so that the agreement could be enforced.

"We just needed time to gather this information," said Susan Jensen, a spokeswoman for the California Nations Indian Gaming Association. "It's good news in that it can stop the scare tactics of the opposition, that we're not over the numbers."