The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, based in north-east San Diego County and the owners of Valley View Casino, has filed a $550m government claim against the state of California for lost profits.
The tribe claims that the losses are the result of Governor Schwarzenegger’s refusal to allow the California Gambling Commission to issue all of the slot machine licences it is entitled to under its 1999 gambling compact with the state.
According to the federal court lawsuits currently pending in the United States District Courts in San Diego and Sacramento, and the decision issued by the USDC judge in Sacramento, the state compact provides for a total of 42,700 Class III licences to be divided up amongst the tribes. However, the tribe claims that the state has limited the number of licences to 32,151. This, it says, has deprived the state, counties and cities, as well as these tribes, out of millions of dollars.
“We are just asking for what was established to be ours according to the language of the 1999 compact,” said Allen Lawson, chairman of the San Pasqual tribe. “Fulfilling the language of the compact will not only benefit the entire Native American community but in turn will aid the counties of California during this time when everyone could use assistance.”
