Morongo tribe, state to hold lottery-machine talks

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Monday, November 29, 2004 8:58 PM PST ∞

If it looks, plays and sounds like a slot machine, is it still a slot machine?

That's what state regulators and tribal officials will debate at a meeting today in Sacramento.

The discussion is prompted by some Riverside County casinos that are using a new type of gambling machines that the state maintains are illegal.

To players, the so-called video lottery terminals are nearly indistinguishable from Las Vegas-style slots. To Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the machines are cheating California out of casino revenue and letting tribes get around a 2,000-slot limit set by the state.

Representatives of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians ---- a tribe that owns a casino near Palm Springs using the disputed machines ---- and state officials are expected to meet today to discuss the legality of the machines.

Members of the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, which operates the same type of machines in its casino near Temecula, are expected to meet with state officials soon about its lottery terminals.

Under the terms of their 1999 gambling agreements with the state, tribes are allowed to operate lottery games. But state officials argue that tribes are not allowed to use lottery games that look like slot machines.

Moreover, the agreements allow tribes to have a maximum of 2,000 slot machines, which Morongo and Pechanga already have. Using the video lottery machines allows them to avoid the cap without renegotiating the terms of their agreements.

Slot machines generate most of the profits at Indian casinos. Schwarzenegger has agreed to lift the cap for tribes that have signed deals to share more of their profits with the state.

Pechanga chairman Mark Macarro was unavailable for comment Monday, but he released a statement earlier this month saying that his tribe had sent word to Schwarzenegger's office agreeing to a meeting.

"Pechanga has informed the governor's office that we will take part in the meet-and-confer process," Macarro said.

Jacob Mejia, a media representative for the Pechanga, confirmed that.

"We intend to have a meeting with the Schwarzenegger administration," Mejia said, adding no official date for the meeting has been set.

Vince Sollitto, a spokesman for the governor, said the main purpose of the conference is to resolve the question of the video lottery machines and "whether the compacts are being violated."

Waltona Manion, a consultant for the Morongo band, confirmed that the meeting was scheduled for today but declined to comment, "until the representatives have had an opportunity to talk."

The governor's legal affairs secretary, Peter Siggins, called the machines illegal in letters sent to both tribes and the game-maker, Multimedia Games Inc. earlier this month.

The letters said the games are nearly indistinguishable from slots because they look, sound and use themes of slot machines. Therefore, they are subject to the 2,000-slot machine limit agreed to by tribes and the state, officials say.

Some tribes, such as Pechanga and Morongo, use video lottery terminals to satisfy an ever-growing number of patrons who often line up behind slot machines on busy weekends at some of the most popular casinos.

Schwarzenegger has been pressuring gambling tribes to contribute more money to alleviate the state's fiscal problems. He also wants tougher regulations for tribes on environmental rules, labor protections and patron rights.

Some tribes say that those regulations intrude on tribes' sovereignty.

Talks held with tribes earlier this year stalled over some of those regulatory questions. But the negotiations produced 10 deals with tribes, including the Pala, Pauma and Viejas bands in San Diego County.

The governor said he hoped the new deals would be models for other tribes.

Pechanga chairman Macarro said the governor's challenge to his tribe's right to operate the video lottery machines is "without merit."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-5426 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

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