Tribe has party to welcome county's 10th Indian casino
By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 12, 2007
SANTA YSABEL – San Diego County's 10th Indian casino opened last night with a private party for more than 1,000 people.
“This is your casino,” Brandie Taylor, the Santa Ysabel tribe's vice chairwoman, proclaimed to tribal members in the crowd. “This is your future.”
The crowd, standing shoulder to shoulder amid silent slot machines, cheered loudly.
Later, after the first slot pull at 5:51 p.m., the sounds of electronic music from the machines mixed with the voices and rattles of traditional Indian singers.
The 349-slot Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino, on state Route 79 about 4½ miles north of Route 78, opened to the general public at 9 p.m., after the party.
It will be some time before the casino sells alcohol.
The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is waiting for the casino to meet several county conditions, specifically some road improvements, said Robin Van Dyke, head of the San Marcos ABC office.
“We are not issuing the license until that is done,” she said.
County officials say they are waiting for word that the tribe has implemented an alcohol training program for its workers; will serve food; has a designated-driver program; and sponsors a shuttle to public transit.
Adding turn lanes to Route 79 and moving the entrance to the facility's mile-long driveway will take eight to 10 weeks, said casino General Manager Douglas Lentz.
The tribe is working with the state on getting the license, Lentz said, and he expected it to be issued over some of the county's objections.
The $27 million casino on the side of Volcan Mountain overlooking Lake Henshaw was funded through a bank loan guaranteed by Arizona's Yavapai-Apache Nation, whose leaders were at yesterday's ceremony.
The 35,000-square-foot casino will fund the tribal government and provide for direct payments to Santa Ysabel's members.
Tribal Chairman Johnny Hernandez has said the money won't make tribal members rich, but will provide more opportunities. Several tribal members are now working for the casino.
“There was really nothing here when I was growing up,” said tribal member Bettina Paipa, 33, who will serve drinks.
About 350 of the diverse tribe's 781 members live on the 15,000-acre reservation.
Under a 2003 agreement with the state, the tribe will give 5 percent of its slot-machine revenue to the state, plus make payments to the county for problem-gambling programs and law enforcement.
Tribal Council member Bonnie Salgado said the casino opening ranked as one of the tribe's milestones, along with an 1852 treaty that was later ignored and the creation of the reservation in 1893.
“After today, nothing will be the same,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment