California tribes offer friendship, but not cash

Chris T. Nguyen

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 11:01 a.m.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Indian tribes with casino gambling are willing to be good neighbors and citizens, their leaders say, but that doesn't necessarily mean handing over more money to the state just because California is in an economic slump.

"Our relation with non-tribal governments should be conducted in the spirit of honesty, openness and, when appropriate, friendship," Anthony Miranda, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, told several hundred people gathered here Wednesday for the annual Western Indian Gaming Conference.

"We should always conduct ourselves as good neighbors and citizens, willing to listen and to talk but always willing to defend our fundamental beliefs, principles, economic interest and overall cultural identity," he added.

He and other tribal leaders balked at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's demands that casinos share more of their revenue with the state, which is struggling to keep its budget in the black. Miranda said that in recent years tribal casinos have employed more than 40,000 Californians who generate about $400 million in federal, state and local taxes.

While tribal leaders are willing to hear proposals from state officials, Miranda said, more than 60 of them have already negotiated multiple-year agreements with California. Schwarzenegger has appointed attorney Daniel Kolkey to re-examine those agreements.

Though he declined to share details of his strategy, Kolkey said the state doesn't plan to reduce the maximum number of slot machines tribal casinos are allowed to operate, set at 2,000.

Under the approved compacts, casinos with up to 500 slot machines as of September 1999 are required to pay 7 percent of the average net win to the state. The rate is bumped up to 10 percent for 501 to 1,000 machines, and 13 percent for more than 1,000.

Tribes would be willing to pay more if state officials lift the cap on the maximum number of slot machines, said Toddy Yeats, a member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, a tribe of about 450 members in San Diego County that operate the Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino.

While some tribes want the cap on slot machines removed, their casinos may not be able to handle more than 2,000 machines, said the association's executive director, Jacob Coin. Of more than 50 Indian casinos statewide, he said, only 12 operate the maximum number of machines.

Tribal officials also criticized a proposed ballot measure that would allow non-Indian racetracks and card clubs to operate slot machines. The initiative, which is pending state approval for signatures to be collected for the November election, would earmark up to $1 billion from such gambling profits for police, firefighting and education.

Under current California law, slot machines are permitted only on Indian lands.

Schwarzenegger and other Californians have a misconception that tribes are rich, said Michael Lombardi, a spokesman for the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians in Riverside County.

In reality, he said, only about 10 of the state's 107 tribes are wealthy.

His own tribe, Lombardi said, is still paying off construction costs on the casino it opened in July 2002 and doesn't expect the gambling hall to turn a profit for another five years.