|
|
News From California Online Poker Proposal
Aug 20, 2009
The new drive by several California tribes and card clubs to initiate fully legalized and regulated online
poker games in California is hitting more difficulties. In addition to yesterday’s announcement by the Senate leader that the state Congress probably won’t have time to address the proposal in the current session, other problems have appeared.
According to San Diego’s North County Times, the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, an influential tribe in Southern California that owns a large
casino near the inland city of Temecula, has announced that it is officially opposed to the plan. Like the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the tribe that initiated the new plan, the Pechanga tribe is located within Riverside County.
The chairman of the Pechanga tribe, Mark Macarro, told the North County Times that a poll of his tribe members indicates that they’re generally opposed to
Online Poker playing.
"As we weigh these proposed policies that would significantly expand
gambling, we must take into account the opinions and concerns of the people of California, particularly in light of the commitments we have made about limited gambling," Macarro said in a written statement.
The Morongo tribe has also been accused of trying to unfairly gain a dominant role in California’s online poker games industry with this proposal. The tribe has denied that, however, with spokesman Patrick Dorinson stating that “This isn’t a take it or leave it proposal. It’s a starting point to form an LLC that would need to meet the needs of different participants. If legislation is passed, then we would look at the structure of the consortium again, as people who join would want to have input.”
And, according to the Capitol Weekly, a publication that follows California political issues, the California Tribal Business Alliance, an group representing several casino tribes, “sent an opposition letter to legislators last week” about the Online Poker proposal. “I guarantee this bill is going nowhere in the next four weeks,” said CTBA lobbyist David Quintana. "The opposition has broadened."
There has been a small spot of good news for the proposal, though. Per the same Capitol Weekly article, “a majority of members of the California Indian Nations Gaming Association (CNIGA) voted for a resolution ‘To support the concept in principle of a joint venture enterprise between California tribes and licensed card rooms to offer online intrastate Online Poker and to proceed with further analysis’” late on Wednesday. According to the article, the CNIGA consists of 36 tribes, many of which manage
casinos.
Good Luck
From the
Online Casinos USA team
play online casino
play online casino
|
|
