Poll Finds Strong Support for New Indian Gaming Agreements

PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION, Calif., July 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Nearly three out of four high-propensity voters favor keeping the four
recently ratified tribal-state agreements that allow more slot machines at
four Southern California casinos if the issue were put to a vote, a poll
commissioned by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians has found.
After initially hearing a description of the agreements, 69% said they
would vote yes in favor of retaining them should there be a future ballot
issue. Support grew to 74% after being presented with arguments for and
against the new compacts, the poll found.

"This poll merely confirms what we've known for quite some time. There
is overwhelming support for the new agreements," said Pechanga Tribal
Chairman Mark Macarro. "During the life of these agreements, the four
tribes will pay billions of dollars to the state of California to help fund
public education, health care, public safety, and more."

The survey follows reports last week that a group of casino-owning
Indian tribes, labor unions, and racetracks are considering a referendum to
overturn amendments to the compacts that were approved overwhelmingly by
both hoses of the Legislature and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Blocking these funds would only hurt California's most vulnerable
citizens," said Chairman Macarro. "Reasonable minds will hopefully prevail
and put the interests of all Californians ahead of their own."

The poll of 800 high propensity California voters was conducted by
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, a nationally known opinion research
firm, on July 15-16. Key findings from the poll are attached and can be
found at http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/ .

About the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians is a federally recognized tribal
government locted next to Temecula, California. June 27, 2007 marked the
125th anniversary of the establishment of the Pechanga Indian Reservation.
The Tribe owns and operates the award-winning Pechanga Resort & Casino.
Through its economic enterprises, Pechanga directly employs more than 5,000
individuals.

TO: Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians
FROM: Richard Maullin and Rick Sklarz
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates
DATE: July 18, 2007
RE: Summary of Indian Gaming Compacts Survey

Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates (FMM&A) recently completed a
survey(1) of California voters to assess opinion toward a possible ballot
referendum to repeal the recent Indian gaming agreements signed by Governor
Schwarzenegger and passed by the State Legislature. These agreements allow
for the expansion of slot machines at four Southern California Indian
casinos and require the Tribes to increase the amount of slot machine
revenue paid to the state. The results show that California voters
overwhelmingly favor these agreements, and a ballot referendum seeking to
repeal these Indian gaming agreements would fail by a large margin. A yes
vote on such a referendum would favor keeping the agreements while a no
vote would repeal the agreements.

(See Figure 1
http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/uploadedcontent/page/458/Pechanga%20Poll.pdf)

As the Figure 1 illustrates, 69 percent vote yes on a referendum to
keep these agreements in place. Further, 49 percent respond that they would
vote "definitely yes" on this referendum, showing a very high level of
intensity of support for the Indian gaming agreements. In comparison, less
than one-in-four (22 percent) vote no and only 14 percent responded
"definitely no" to repeal the agreements reached by the Governor and Indian
tribes and ratified by the State Legislature. These results demonstrate
that there is very little support among California voters for repealing
these gaming agreements and should a referendum be placed on the ballot in
an upcoming election it would likely be defeated by a significant margin.
After hearing a series of arguments both in favor and in opposition to
the new Indian gaming agreements, support for maintaining these agreements
increases to 74 percent and only one-in-five (19 percent) voters favor a
referendum to repeal the agreements.

As Figure 2
http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/uploadedcontent/page/458/Pechanga%20Poll.pdf
demonstrates, voter support for the new Indian gaming agreements remains
widespread and strong after voters are given additional information on both
sides of the debate. Additionally, the intensity of support for the gaming
agreements remains consistent (49 percent definitely yes), suggesting that
half of all California voters have reached a firm position on this issue.
Therefore, these results indicate that argumentation in favor of repealing
the Indian gaming agreements will not effectively persuade voters to change
their opinion.

(1) Methodology: From July 15-16, 2007, FMM&A completed a survey of 800
registered California voters likely to cast a ballot in the November
2008 Presidential election. The margin of error for the full sample is
+/- 3.5%; margins of error for subgroups within the sample will be
higher.

SOURCE Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians