San Pasqual tribe alleges state broke gaming compact
By: SCOTT MARSHALL - Staff Writer
NORTH COUNTY ---- The San Pasqual Band of
Mission Indians, which owns and operates the Valley View Casino in
Valley Center, has alleged in a federal lawsuit that state
officials are depriving the tribe of hundreds of additional slot
machines to which it contends it is entitled.
The lawsuit alleges that the San Pasqual tribe is suffering
"an irreparable injury" because of the California
Gambling Control Commission's refusal to issue additional licenses
for gaming devices such as slot machines.
It charges that the machine should be
available based on the tribal gaming compacts that more than 60
tribes statewide have signed with the state.
Cy Rickards, chief counsel to the commission, said Tuesday that
the commission had not received or seen a copy of the lawsuit,
filed May 3 in U.S. District Court in San Diego. Rickards said he
would not comment on the "merits" of the lawsuit while
it is pending.
The lawsuit alleges that the terms of the gaming compacts allow a
total of at least 42,700 licenses for "gaming devices like
slot machines" for tribes who signed the compacts.
However, the California Gambling Control Commission has determined
that the tribal gaming compacts allow a total of only 32,151
gaming device licenses, and that all of those licenses already had
been issued as of Oct. 7, 2005, according to the suit.
"Their interpretation of the compact is just wrong," San
Pasqual's attorney, Stephen Solomon, said of state officials.
Solomon said Tuesday that the San Pasqual tribe is "entitled
by law" to have 2,000 slot machines. The lawsuit alleges the
tribe currently has 1,572 slot machines, but that the state
commission has decided that no more licenses for slot machines are
available.
Solomon said he could not comment on how much money the San
Pasqual tribe is losing by not having more slot machines.
"It's a lot of dollars," Solomon said.
The lawsuit asks for a court order declaring that the gaming
compacts authorize at least 42,700 gaming device licenses and
requiring that a "Gaming Device License Draw" ---- the
process through which tribes statewide are awarded more licenses
---- be conducted immediately.
San Pasqual also asks in the lawsuit for a court order declaring
that it is authorized to operate up to 2,000 slot machines and
that it is not subject to the limit on the total number of gaming
devices allowed to tribes statewide.
The statewide limit is void and unenforceable against San Pasqual
because the state amended gaming compacts with five other tribes
to remove any limits on how many gaming devices they can have, the
lawsuit alleges. Those five tribes included the Pala and Pauma
tribes in North County, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also alleges that 6,120 gaming device licenses the
five tribes obtained before they were allowed unlimited slot
machines should not count against the number of licenses allowed
statewide. San Pasqual asks in the lawsuit that 6,120 licenses be
made available for tribes statewide as a result.
The lawsuit comes about five months after a San Pasqual tribal
leader told Valley Center community leaders about plans for a $100
million expansion of the Valley View Casino, including increasing
the casino floor space from 43,000 to 105,000 square feet and
adding more slot machines and blackjack tables. The tribe also
gave county $6 million in December to help widen Valley Center
Road.
Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.
Links:
http://www.sanpasqualindians.org/
http://www.cgcc.ca.gov/
http://www.valleyviewcasino.com/default.aspx
Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson are
attorneys practicing in the areas of ABC law, ABC Appeals Board
cases, and all related Land Use Matters such as City and County
Conditional Use Permits, Variances, Police and Fire permits,
Entertainment law, and Gambling Law; as well as Business and
Personal Injury litigation. Solomon, Saltsman & Jamieson can
be reached at 800 405 4222."
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