Feds Approves San Manuel Amended Compact

The federal government has approved an amended compact that allows the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to add 5,500 more slot machines to its San Bernardino area casino.

The tribe now operates 2,000 slots.

The approval by the Department of the Interior was published last Friday in the Federal Register.

Opponents of the four agreements on the Feb 5 ballot includes a labor union that would like to organize at Indian casinos.

The San Manuel tribe, which signed its agreement with Gov. Schwarzenegger in August 2006, already has a labor union -- the Communication Workers of America -- and does not face an election challenge. Additionally, San Manuel has done cross promotions with horse racetracks, some of which are also fighting the other four tribes.

San Manuel and the four other tribes all have received state and federal approval for their amended agreements, but only the four others have to get voter approval next month.

It's unclear how many slot machines the San Manuel tribe will install at its two-story, modern San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino, which draws customers from across Southern California. San Manuel officials and others have said they want the new slot machines to meet the demands of their customers, who often pack the casinos on the weekends.

Previously, the tribe said it would be able to put in at least 200 slot machines immediately upon getting federal approval, replacing video bingo machines that sit on the casino floor. The video bingo machines look like slot machines but are not as profitable.

"I'm quite certain that the casino management is going to be sensitive to what the market will tolerate," Jerry J. Paresa, San Manuel's executive director of governmental relations, said in September when the Legislature approved the deal. "There's no magic formula."

Under the new agreement, San Manuel will pay a portion of its slot-machine revenue to the state. The Department of Finance has estimated the tribe will pay $7.2 billion to the state over the life of the agreement, which lasts through 2030, if it adds all 5,500 machines allowed. If the tribe adds 3,000 machines, the state will get $3.8 billion over the next 22 years, according to the Department of Finance.

In addition to the amended compact, the tribe signed a letter of agreement with the state consenting to binding arbitration of patron disputes and minimum internal controls in the tribe's casino.

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