Page 10 - September 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Two Gambling-Related Initiatives On Ballot in November Election
Proposition 70 Will Increase Revenues to the State
P roposition 70 will give California 8.84 percent (the current corporate tax rate) of Indian casino revenues in exchange for allowing more than the current 2,000-slot-machine-per-tribe cap, and would extend tribal gambling agreements with the state 99 years and allow tribal casinos to operate craps (dice) and
roulette tables (wheels). is initiative is endorsed by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Proposition 68 would demand that the state’s 54 gambling tribes pay 25 percent of their revenues or 16 privately owned gambling businesses, card rooms and racetracks (most in urban areas), would each get a share of 30,000 slot machines. is initiative is backed by a group of 16 privately owned horse
racetracks and card clubs.
Opponents of Proposition 68 (who include
police organizations) say the initiative’s main purpose is not to assure that tribes contribute
Valley View Casino Sponsors Third Annual Joe Lizura Charity
FGolf Classic
or the second year Valley View Casino has been the title sponsor for the annual Joe Lizura Charity Golf Classic. e
Golf Classic began in 2002 and grew to nearly 300 participants this year. Golfers played on July 30th on two separate courses at the Rancho Ber- nardo Inn and the Rancho Bernardo Country
Club. Joe Lizura is a popular San Diego TV meteorologist and weatherman who has been with NBC 7/39 since September 1990.
When reached for comment, Mr. Lizura said, “I am very happy to be able to present such a large check to the San Diego Chil- dren’s Hospital each year. e help I receive from Valley View Casino is invaluable. In addition to the cash and prizes they donate, the number of their team members that assist in the organization and running of the Golf Classic is priceless.”
Valley View Casino donated over $120,000 in cash and prizes to the fund-raising event. A total of over $200,000 was raised for San Diego Children’s Hospital this year. Since 2002 nearly $500,000 has been raised for the hospital through the annual Golf Classic. Of that amount, Valley View Casino has donated over $300,000 in cash and prizes.
$1 billion to ease its budget woes and another $150 million to $200 million annually, signed ve additional compacts on August 24th. One of the new compacts will allow a 2,500-slot machine casino close to San Francisco. State legislators still have to approve the new compacts.
Gaming tribes currently contribute over $130 million annually to state and local governments as mandated by their current gaming compacts. In addition, gaming tribes make consistent community contributions, as indicated throughout this page.
A recent Field poll said that California voters are willing to expand opportunities for the public to gamble as long as gaming operators provide additional revenues to the state and local co ers.
Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians Has Donated TMore Than $4.75 Million to Local Community
to the state, but to allow racetrack and card club owners to operate slot machines. Proposition 68 would require all California gambling tribes to renegotiate their agreements and to agree to the terms of the measure. If only one tribe does not negotiate, or if federal regulators do not approve the new agreements, the tribes would lose their rights to have slot machines.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who two months ago brokered a deal with ve tribes giving the State
he Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, owners and operators of the Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, north of Sacramento, donated $277,500 to the Esparto Child Development Center, the Food Bank of Yolo County, and the Yolo Family Service Agency.
Tribal chairwoman, Paula Lorenzo said, “As a member of the community, we are not only making a nancial commitment, but a commitment to creating a better place to live.”
e Tribe’s Community Fund, a philanthropic branch of its tribal government, has given more than $4.75 million to community education, social services, health, arts, environmental needs since its inception in October 2000.
Barona Valley Ranch Sponsors 29th Annual
BKGB Skyshow
arona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino will sponsor San Diego’s summer spectacular 101 KGB Skyshow XXIX on September 4th at 6:00 p.m., when the San Diego State University Aztecs take on Idaho State at Qualcomm Stadium. Barona Valley Ranch
Resort and Casino is a longtime supporter of the Aztec Athletic Foundation and the great tradition of team sports at SDSU, where excellence in attitude and achievement are pursued both on and o the playing eld. Barona Valley Ranch supports the Aztec football team and gets to entertain thousands of San Diego football and reworks fans as a key sponsor of 101 KGB Skyshow XXIX.
National Museum of the American Indian
AOpens This Month
fter more than 15 years of planning, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will celebrate its grand opening on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on September 21, 2004. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall, the museum’s location
symbolizes a deeper understanding and reconciliation between America’s rst citizens and those who have come to make this country their home. e opening of NMAI on the National Mall marks an unprecedented cultural achievement as Native Americans from North, Central, and South America realize a long-awaited dream to share and honor their cultures with visitors from throughout the world.
e 250,000 sq. ft. museum is the result of years of collaboration with American Indian communities.
e museum’s grand opening will include a“Native Nations” procession and a six-day First Americans Festival. Additional activities during the week of festivities will mark this historic event. Due to the extraordinary number of visitors expected at the time of the opening, free timed passes will be necessary for entry to the museum. A
limited number of passes may be reserved in advance for a nominal service fee at www.tickets.com, or call toll- free, 866-400-nmai (6624).
Page 10 September 2004
Southern California Tribes in the News