30/07/2005 00:00
Casino San Pablo to launch bingo
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Stymied in their quest for a Las Vegas-style casino in the East Bay, the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians will begin its rollout of electronic bingo machines at its Casino San Pablo on Monday.
"It is possible that we'll have a soft opening on Monday with 500 electronic bingo machines," tribal spokesman Doug Elmets said Friday. "We're not making a major pronouncement about the opening because there are still some things that need to be done inside the casino to make certain that it is completely ready for patrons."
Elmets denied that the Lytton Band is soft-pedaling its new games in order to avoid giving steam to a pending U.S. Senate bill that would revoke the tribe's gaming rights.
The Casino San Pablo card room and its 9-acre tract at San Pablo Avenue and San Pablo Dam Road already have been placed into trust for the Lytton Band, making it the East Bay's only Indian reservation.
Senate Bill 113, authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would force the tribe to undergo a years-long federal bureaucratic process and obtain approval before installing any new casino games, from electronic bingo to authentic Nevada-style slot machines. It now awaits a floor vote.
The Lytton Band last summer negotiated a compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that would have allowed the tribe 2,500 slot machines in exchange for giving a 25 percent cut of its gaming revenue to the state, county and city. The Legislature, citing concerns about having so big a casino in so urban a setting, refused to ratify the deal.
The tribe needs no compact to install electronic bingo machines, so the state and county will get no money and the city will get only slightly more money under a previous pact.
Elmets said Friday that if the first 500 electronic bingo machines prove fruitful, the tribe will proceed with plans to double that number. "It depends on customer demand."
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, in whose district the casino lies and who has helped lead legislative opposition to its expansion, said Feinstein's bill
source:The Argus
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