Gaming tribes respond to lobbying attacks by Organized Labor

from the Sacramento Bee's CapitolAlert:


Morongo to hit the air

By Shane Goldmacher - Capitol Alert
Published 9:38 am PDT Monday, April 23, 2007

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians are launching a public relations offensive to push for approval of their gambling compact, airing television ads starting Tuesday across the state and launching a new Web site.

The Morongo gambling compact, which would allow for 5,500 new slot machines in their Indian casino, was approved by the state Senate earlier this week and now sits in the Assembly, where labor advocates are lobbying heavily to block its passage.

According to media-buying sources, the television buy by Morongo is slated to begin early next week, with time purchased in the biggest of California's media markets and ads scheduled to air for at least one week. In Los Angeles, the state's largest media market, the ad purchase was estimated at $225,000, according to one veteran media buyer.

"I can tell you that we are certainly, as this thing moves on to the Assembly, we're certainly going to tell the Morongo story and inform Californians about what these compacts will bring in new revenues," said Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the Morongo tribe. "As far as any announcements, when and if we're ready to announce something, we'll announce it."

The tribe's TV spots are expected to be positive in nature.

A new Web site recently launched by the Morongo tribe, called "Together California," touts the financial benefits of the compact and may be a hint on what the soon-to-air TV ads will look like.
"Right now California is facing a fiscal crisis," a petition on the site reads. "Vital services like healthcare and education are being threatened. New agreements between the Governor and five California Indian tribes will help solve the state's dire budget problems and provide much needed funding for healthcare and education."

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger first signed the compact in August of last year, his office estimated the Morongo compact would bring in between $2.8 billion and $5.2 billion over the life of the compact. If all five major compacts are signed, the state stands to gain $13.4 billion and $22.4 billion in casino revenue-sharing payments in the next 25 years.