Marian Ilitch's plans for twin casinos in Barstow have been on life support for more than a year

Some insiders and political leaders said the gaming compacts Marian Ilitch's team had negotiated for the Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes Band of Indians were DOA when they arrived in the California Legisalture back in 2005.

Eleven months ago, San Bernardino County's Sun newspaper reported that key legislative aides, willing to go on the record, were saying the compacts were in fact dead.

Ilitch and her crew kept their plans for twin casino resorts in Barstow on life support since then with sophisticated use of theater and nearly $1 million dollars spent on lawyers, lobbying, propoganda and political campaigns. Her agents consistently gave the public false hopes when they new their plans were terminal; they paid people associated with the Los Coyotes Reservation to help them make their case.

In January, Marian's crew staged a press conference to suggest their plans had been revived and that there was legislative interest where none had ever existed before. By their own estimation, Barwest spokespersons indicated they had three months to build a ground swell of support in both houses of the legislature. They had three votes and needed approximatley 60 more.

It's been two months since the Team Ilitch dog and pony show and nothing new has been reported since (no press releases, no media events, no protests on the Capitol lawn or other manufactured hoopla) -- You can bet if they had even a handful of new commitments from legislators willing to state their support publicly, the Ilitch Detroit PR machine would be exploiting the heck out of that "news." But they don't.

For those keeping score; back in January Ilitch operatives needed to recruit two new legislators approximately every three days. And now, they would have to recruit nearly two new legislators every day and that includes weekends and the days the legislature is out on Spring Break. If they couldn't do it in 18 months -- after throwing $500,000 at lobbying, $75,000 at state political candidates, $200,000 on local political activity and staging a hunger strike on the Capitol grounds -- what are the odds they are going to get their act together anytime in the next thirty days?

The Barwest compacts are DEAD; they have been lifeless for quite some time. And by perpetuating a fraud to the contrary, Barwest guarantees Barstow's hopes for a casino and economic development are DEAD too.

The only people who to possibly benefit from the continuing the Barwest sham are Nevada interests fearful of competition and those in the Barstow area who are trying to unload property at artificially inflated prices. ... People who like Marian Ilitch already have more than they know what to do with.