Tribe’s ad blitz pressures legislators
SACRAMENTO — A wealthy Riverside County Indian tribe launched television ads statewide today that urge lawmakers to allow five Southern California casinos to triple the number of slot machines they operate.
The ads were paid for by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which owns a casino, resort and spa along Interstate 10 near Cabazon.
The ads promote pending legislation that would allow five tribes, including the Morongo, to add a total of 22,500 slot machines to the 10,000 they now have. The Morongo casino could jump from 2,000 to 7,500 slots and rival the biggest gambling hall in the United States, the tribally owned Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.
In return for the right to expand, the tribes would give the state up to 25% of the additional revenue. The agreements were negotiated last year by the tribes and the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Senate passed the compacts last week. Assembly leaders say they will not vote on the compacts for a month or more. Many Assembly Democrats say they are troubled by labor and oversight provisions in the agreements.
The 60-second Morongo ad, which will air across the state for the next few weeks, opens with stirring music and the image of a bald eagle taking flight.
“California and California Indian tribes -- together, we soar,” intones a narrator. “Not so long ago our tribes were but a small part of California’s economy, and now we soar.”
The ad calls Indian tribes “good, responsible neighbors that bring thousands of jobs,” and urges people to tell their lawmakers to pass the casino agreements.
The accords will generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year to “help balance the budget, improve education and provide high-quality healthcare for those who need it most,” according to the commercial.
In a reference to hotel and casino employees unions that are trying to defeat the legislation, the narrator says, “Don’t let special interests stand in the way.”
“We want to make sure the Assembly takes this up as quickly as possible,” said Morongo spokesman Patrick Dorinson. He called the ads “a seven-figure buy” but refused to say exactly how much Morongo spent.
The other tribes with gambling expansions pending in the Legislature are the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
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