Tribes Getting More Slots

The California State Gambling Control Commission has approved slot machine licenses for the more than 3000 new slot machines for 11 Indian tribes within the state. There was a commission meeting in Sacramento on Monday that followed a recent ruling by the federal courts that said that the tribes were allowed these additional slot machine licenses and that they were to be issued immediately.
 
The state has been required by the federal government to issue thousands of new slot machine licenses as the tribes have successfully argued that they were entitled to them. They had been fighting with the courts saying that under compacts that they had signed with then Gov. Gray Davis that they were entitled to thousands more slot machines without rewriting the compacts as they stood.
 
The Big Sandy Band Rancheria has already received about half of the new slot machine licenses that have been issued to the tribes. The Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians and San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Mission Indians also received some of the new slot machine licenses.
 
This state had argued against the additional slot machine licenses saying that the tribes should have to turn over more of their revenue in return, but the federal courts disagreed. The state then tried to delay the order as they are appealing the federal judge’s ruling, but the Court of Appeals disagreed with the state and ordered the licenses to be issued. Because of the state that the economy is in at this time, most tribes are only going to seek a portion of those slot machine licenses through a drawing by the California Gambling Control Commission.