Slot Machine Compacts Mean Trouble for State

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has approved several compacts with the state’s Indian tribe that would allow for more slot machines and casinos to come into the state. If the legislature ratifies the deals he signed, the state could be looking at up to 22,500 more slot machines in a state that is already overrun with them.

Schwarzenegger is counting on those compacts being signed, and has even written the estimated $509 million in slot machine revenue into the state budget. His opponents are using a new survey that says the state is overrun with gambling addicts to try and block the gambling expansion.

Assemblywoman Lori Hancock said that she is opposed to the slot machine expansion for they already have problems with the 1.2 million in the state that are already showing signs of gambling addiction – and she wants to know why the state and the governor are looking to create more addicts. She said that they will simply be hurting the residents of the state, and no amount of slot machine revenue is worth that.

Darrel Ng, a spokesman for the governor, said that the governor is not going to change the negotiations for the number of slot machines or casinos. He said that the study does not change what he and the casinos have agreed upon. He also said that he is providing $3 million in each of his budgets to help with gambling addiction – but his opponents say that is just isn’t enough.

Back to Monthly Archive // Main Slot Machine News Index