Indian casinos expanding beyond reservations
By David Siders, Sacramento Bee
With a referendum looming over the California Legislature’s approval of a controversial Indian casino in Madera County, Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday that casino opponents are setting a bad precedent in what is likely to be a multimillion-dollar fight between casino interests.
“I think this is a dispute about money, mostly, money and competition,” Brown told reporters after addressing tribal leaders at the Capitol.
At issue is the Legislature’s approval this year of a casino for the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians along Highway 99, more than 35 miles from the village where tribal members live. Opponents of the casino, including New York-based financial interests and Table Mountain Rancheria, which operates a casino near the North Fork site, have raised nearly $1.7 million to support a referendum.
Andrew Acosta, a political consultant working on the campaign, said the group will submit signatures Tuesday to qualify the measure for the November 2014 ballot.