Show Me The Money – Contra Costa County Will Flip For $12 million

According to a draft of a pending deal, for $12 million a year Contra Costa County is willing to flip from complete opposition over to outright support for the plans of building a major Indian casino-hotel resort on the Richmond waterfront.

Under the deal, the county would agree to "cease all efforts to oppose or intervene against the tribe's project approvals" and would document its support.

The Board of Supervisors plans to discuss the pending deal at its meeting today and likely will hold another public hearing before a decision.

The county believes if they don’t make a deal now they could be left with a weaker bargaining position once the pending decision by the feds is made.

Supervisor John Gioia said, "I think the agreement gets the community and the county more than it would get if we waited until the end of the process to negotiate.”

Of the $12 million a year the county would receive, $7 million must be spent in West County. For the first seven years, $4 million would go to health programs and services, half in West County.

Two other tribes, the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians are also seeking new and expanding casinos in the area which alarms Cheryl Schmit of Stand Up for California, a casino watchdog group.

"This certainly is a break in the dam," she said. "We have a lot of tribes out there. If it looks like Contra Costa County is an easy target, which city is next?"