Opinion - Impact of Ratified Compacts

I stated earlier in the year that I believed that the fate of these compacts would play a major role in any future plans the Chumash may have of adding more slot machines. These amended compacts, if approved by the Dept of Interior, have set a precedent for all Indian casinos in the state, but I contend that due to the uniqueness of the valley (we are not out in the middle of the desert alongside an 8 lane interstate) and the space restraint that the Chumash have as well as the “new rules” concerning putting land into trust (http://rml-sulumhasscientia.blogspot.com/2007/05/more-on-off-reservation-gaming.html) that it will be very difficult for them to expand with 5000 more slots. Some expansion will probably occur and in the short term it will likely be parking and hotel rooms, but if and when the Chumash ever decide to seriously seek to amend their compact to add more slots, rest assured, there will be plenty of time for public debate and input and the people who live in the valley and surrounding communities as well as local city and county governments will play a major role in the eventual outcome. It will not happen overnight behind closed doors and it will not happen in “only a few weeks before it becomes reality”. It will be a long, drawn out public debate and if we ever get to that point, my hope is that the debate will be one where calm rational discussions occur, where all sides state their cases with respect for the opposing views. The alarmist propaganda we have seen in the past was not in the best interest of the people of this valley and by now I hope the people who generated it will realize that.