Back From Vacation …

Well, after a week of no phones, no computers and no kids (for a few days anyway) I guess it’s time to get back into it. Hope ya’ll had a great, safe 4th.

Couple of things from last week…..

Gov Signs Amended Miwok Compact

Last week the Governor signed an amended compact with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, of El Dorado County. Under the terms of the compact, the Miwok have agreed to pay the state the largest share of slot machine winnings of any tribe in California.

The compact will run through 2029 and allow a maximum of 5,000 slot machines.

The tribe will share revenues with the state based on a sliding percentage of net winnings from slot machine operations, ranging from 20 percent to 25 percent.

Those percentages exceed any other Indian compact in the state, according to Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.

In addition, the tribe agreed to pay $4.6 million annually to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund whereby the 71 California tribes that have no casinos or very small casinos, will receive $1.1 million a year from the fund fed by the large casino-owning tribes.

"This compact is a good deal for the state, the local community and the tribe," Schwarzenegger said in a press release.

"The agreement will provide significant revenues to the state, protections for both workers and patrons, and for mitigation for the off-reservation impacts of gaming."
Tribal representatives didn't return calls from The Bee on Tuesday.

But El Dorado County leaders expressed concern about the possibility that the casino might someday reach its maximum allotment of 5,000 slot machines.

Rusty Dupray, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said he hadn't had time to study details of the compact but called the slot machines "a mixed bag."

"On one hand it will help us financially. The downside is it means more traffic and its impact on South Lake Tahoe," Dupray said.

Under a 2006 settlement with the county, the tribe agreed to pay $100,000 per additional 100 slot machines over the 2,000 the casino will have when it opens.

Other provisions of the compact are very similar to the other recently ratified amended compacts and include:

• Requiring the tribe to prepare an environmental impact report to assess the potential effects of new and expanded gaming facilities and detail how environmental impacts will be mitigated.
• Providing that all disputes with employees, patrons and the county may be resolved through binding arbitration.
• Requiring that any new construction meets or exceeds the building and safety codes of the county and the state.

An important aspect of the compact from the tribe's standpoint has to do with an interchange the tribe agreed to build connecting Highway 50 to the casino site. The tribe will also construct diamond lanes on Highway 50 to handle the anticipated increase in traffic.

Under the compact, the tribe may deduct payments it makes for the construction of the lanes from its payments to the state.

Judy Mathat, a real estate agent and long time advocate of the casino, said provisions in the compact demonstrate the tribe's willingness to cooperate with the county.

"I believe totally in their ability to work with the community," she said Tuesday.


AB 2026 – Online Poker

The first draft of Assemblyman Lloyd Levine’s AB 2026 was written to legalize a system of California-only video poker, but after subtle opposition from gaming tribes and anti-gambling groups it has been pared back to only do a study on the idea.

Still, gaming tribes are keeping a close eye on the progress of this bill.

Levine's bill, in its current form, would require the Department of Justice to create a set of guidelines and regulations for online poker in California. But the Legislature would have to affirm those regulations and formally legalize online poker in a future bill, after the DOJ has come up with its guidelines.

Online poker was very popular a couple years ago but in 2006 the federal government outlawed it and used their powers to regulate interstate commerce to restrict the abilities of credit card companies to do business with online poker centers, many of which are not based on American soil.

Levine says he wants will help protect gamblers in California, many of whom continue to illegally gamble on off-shore sites, and bring millions in revenues to state coffers.

Proponents of the crackdown said online gaming provided a convenient front for money-laundering while preying on children and gambling addicts. At the time the ban was adopted, it was estimated that 23 million poker players were among the Americans who bet $6 billion per year online, accounting for half the worldwide market, according to analysis by the Congressional Research Service.

But Levine and proponents of the bill say the federal government left room in its national crackdown on online poker for states to step in. If a state can ensure that all players and servers are located in California, states would be free to create new, state-only poker sites.

Tribes have raised quiet concerns that they would be shut out of any new online poker business, or at the very least need to amend their existing gaming compacts with the state to get in on the action.

"For tribes to do this, it would have to take a compact amendment," said Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, who represents many tribal nations in his district. “That's a very big problem. This governor tends to ask for the world, the sun and the moon from tribes in negotiations.”

Only one tribe, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, registered formal opposition to the bill, and that was on procedural grounds. Morongo's objections centered on the bill being amended from a study bill to a bill that would actually implement

Proponents of the bill insist they want tribes to be a part of the online gaming action.

"It's our desire that regulated gaming entities can play, and we don't intend to exclude anybody," Levine said. "My personal opinion is, I think this is going to open up a new market to the tribes that they don't have access to."

Other supporters of the bill also say tribal support is key. "If they're not going to play, it's not going to happen," said Jim Tabilio, president of Poker Voters of America, which is sponsoring Levine's legislation. "We want the tribes to be able to play."

But Tabilio admits there have been complications, and legal questions that still need to be resolved.

"Like pretty much anything that has to do with Indian gaming law, the feds have managed to screw this up over the years. It's just a morass," he said. "The prevailing opinion we're moving forward on is that Indians can do it. It may or may not require an amendment to the compact. But we're operating on a series of assumptions based on what attorneys have been telling us."

But Battin still has concerns about a new $1 billion gaming business that could shut tribes out of the process.

"It doesn't matter what the intentions are," Battin says. "What matters is what the bill does."

Full Articles:
http://www.sacbee.com/dyn/comments/standard/comments_separate.html?uri=http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1055093.html&o=d&ud=u&avatar=n&tie_to=1055093&url_type=1&headline=New%20casino%20pact%20gives%20state%20a%20record%20share
http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?_adctlid=v%7Cjq2q43wvsl855o%7Cx8emokhynuok14&xid=x8ehep425rkau0