By Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee

Do you ever wonder about your chances of winning on the slot machines at Red Hawk, Thunder Valley, Cache Creek, Jackson or other area Indian casinos?

California’s more than 50 Indian casinos earn around $7 billion a year, according to industry economist Alan Meister. About 70 percent of that – $4.9 billion – comes from slot machines, invented in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1891.

California’s Indian casinos are run by sovereign Indian nations that set their payout at whatever they think the market will bear. Paul Cornish, director of casino operations for Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino. The site at Coarsegold, north of Fresno, boasts 1,750 slot machines. Cornish, a 25-year veteran of the gambling industry, started on the Las Vegas Strip and has worked at casinos in Detroit, Indiana and California.

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