Another try at twin casinos
Bill would OK compact for Barstow plan
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
02/01/2007
Legislation was introduced Wednesday in Sacramento that would ratify gaming compacts for two California Indian tribes with aspirations to build a twin-casino resort in Barstow.
02/01/2007
Legislation was introduced Wednesday in Sacramento that would ratify gaming compacts for two California Indian tribes with aspirations to build a twin-casino resort in Barstow.
In Barstow, casino supporters have touted the casino plan as a way to jump-start the desert city's economy by snagging gambling dollars that would otherwise travel north along Interstate 15 to Las Vegas.
The new bill, introduced by state Sens. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, and Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, represents a second effort to gain the Legislature's support for the casino plan after an Assembly committee killed a similar bill last year.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Ashburn acknowledged that he expected a long battle over the bill, although he expects the state will benefit economically if the proposed casinos are built.
"That casino will intercept dollars that are going to go to Las Vegas," said Ashburn, who also represents Barstow. "I didn't pick the tribes. I would be in favor of a casino in Barstow if it were other tribes."
The fact that the two tribes who would benefit from the bill are not based in the High Desert has generated some controversy. The bill would ratify compacts that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in 2005 with Humboldt County's Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe and the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, which is based in north San Diego County.
For the tribes to build a casino in Barstow, the federal Department of the Interior would have to designate the project site as "land in site," which would be analogous to a small Indian reservation.
That possibility offends the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which operates a casino north of San Bernardino and Highland. San Manuel spokesman Jacob Coin said the San Manuels believe it would be improper for the government to set aside land for other tribes in an area where the San Manuels trace their heritage.
"We remain concerned about the encroachment of the tribes on the ancestral land of the Serrano," Coin said.
"Serrano," derived from the Spanish word for mountaineer, is the name given to the ancestors of today's San Manuels by Europeans.
When Assembly members axed the casino bill last year, some lawmakers cited such geographical and historical factors as reasons to oppose the plan.
Tom Shields, a spokesman for the tribes and BarWest Gaming, the Detroit-based company that would develop the twin-casino project, defended the tribes' intentions. He said federal law allows tribes to build off-reservation casinos to catalyze economic development when casinos would be impractical on tribal lands.
If the tribes were to build on their own land, Shields said, the Big Lagoon tribe would wind up building a casino on environmentally sensitive land while the Los Coyotes would likely be unable to attract gamblers to their rural reservation.
Further complicating the issue is the interest of the San Bernardino County-based Chemehuevi Indian Tribe in building a casino in Barstow. The Chemehuevis already operate a casino near the Colorado River, and Chemehuevi spokesman Larry Tenney said the tribe has not been able to move forward with any Barstow-related work as long as Sacramento's attention is focused on the tribes allied with BarWest.
Last year, a similar bill to the one introduced Wednesday was carried by Ashburn and state Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata. Wiggins, also a Democrat, succeeded Chesbro in the state Senate after being elected in November. The new bill is also backed by Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Humboldt, who supported the 2006 legislation.
To Tenney, the lack of new names on the bill suggests a lack of broad support for the plan in Sacramento.
"There's nothing new here," Tenney said. "They're just blocking anyone else, like the Chemehuevis, from moving in."
Coin said the San Manuels would not oppose a Chemehuevi casino in Barstow because of that tribe's historic ties to the Mojave Desert.
Legislators could also spend time this year on casino matters that would directly affect the San Manuels. Last year, the governor signed an amended gaming compact with the tribe that would allow for a significant expansion of gaming operations in return for a greater amount of gambling revenue going to the state.
You may want to review these posts:
The Verifiable Truth: as predicted -- Ilitch Casino Team fails to produce any hopeful news
The Verifiable Truth: Press Release--2007 CA Legislation, reintroducing the Barstow Casinos plan previously rejected by an Assembly Committee
The Verifiable Truth: Re-introducing rejected Barstow Casino Bill, Ilitch finds herself even further behind
The Verifiable Truth: Bottom of the ninth and Ilitch's Barstow Casinos scheme is down by at least 57 votes
The Verifiable Truth: Legislative Score Card
The Verifiable Truth: Senator Ashburn supports Casino in Barstow; ambivalent toward Big Lagoon or Los Coyotes, open to supporting other tribes
The Verifiable Truth: Political cash for those who author SB 157 - the Barstow Casinos bill
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