It’s time to look at the last four propositions on the February 5, 2008 California ballot. Propositions 94 – 97 would allow four tribes to dramatically expand their Indian casinos in California (each proposition is for one of the four compacts involved). The casino expansion would be just for additional slot machines.
California Indian casinos have what is known as “Class 2” gaming. These slot machines (including video poker) all have a predetermined outcome once you pull the lever. And they operate on a “pull tab” basis. If there are 100 possible outcomes, once outcome #2 (say) is pulled, that outcome cannot come up again until all the other outcomes have occurred. The house advantage in these games is huge; as we saw in a Tax Court case decided this past week, it’s practically impossible to be a long-term winner on these slot machines. So these additional slot machines will act as a tax on the dumb gambler.
These compacts also have quite a history. They were sent to the Department of the Interior for their approval, but some bureaucrat forgot to review the compacts. So they were automatically approved.
Meanwhile, two tribes that don’t want the expansion, unions which want to unionize the workers, and anti-gambling forces got the measures on the ballot. Note that a “yes” vote on each proposition is a vote for the additional slot machines. So the measures are supported by some Democrats, some Republicans, and some tribes and opposed by some Democrats, some Republicans, and some tribes.
There is a certainty about these measures, though. No matter who wins the next stop for these propositions is court.