Casino Planned for San Diego County
A Las Vegas-based gambling company announced plans Tuesday to join with a California Indian tribe to build a $100-million casino and hotel in San Diego County, the latest such prospective venture since Gov. Gray Davis made peace over gaming with the state’s Indians.
The deal between Harrah’s Entertainment and the Rincon San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians for the project 35 miles northeast of San Diego comes just months after Anchor Gaming struck a $90-million deal with the nearby Pala band of Mission Indians.
Such deals depend on passage in March of Proposition 1A allowing Indians to operate slot machines, card games such as blackjack and possibly satellite wagering on horse races. A similar proposition passed overwhelmingly in 1998 but was declared unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court.
“Harrah’s has everything we were looking for: capitalization, experience and a brand name,” said Rincon tribal Chairman John Currier.
Philip Satre, chairman of Harrah’s Entertainment, said he expects the casino to become “the premier casino in Southern California. We look forward to doing great things together.”
Satre said that like Anchor, Harrah’s did not oppose Proposition 5, the 1998 ballot measure that sought to legalize Indian gaming. Other Las Vegas interests spent more than $25 million in a losing bid to defeat the measure. This time, however, they appear to be steering clear, and opponents of the gambling measure have raised almost no money to fight it.
Harrah’s, which already operates Indian casinos in Arizona, North Carolina and Kansas, has long wanted a stake in the Southern California market. In 1992, Harrah’s signed a deal with the Pala tribe, only to see the deal fall apart amid the legal and political uncertainty over Indian gaming.
The Rincon tribe, with 600 members, has been thwarted in previous attempts to operate a successful casino on its property in Valley Center.
Twice in 10 years organized crime figures have been indicted for trying to muscle in on the tribe’s gaming. In 1992, members of the Chicago mob were indicted; in 1997, it was the Pittsburgh mob.
In 1995, the U.S. attorney moved to force the tribe to remove slot machines from its casino. The 20,000-square-foot casino stayed open with card games and bingo until it closed in 1996 because of lack of profitability.
Currier said the tribal council selected Harrah’s over several competitors in part because of its pledge to hire tribal members and other local residents for the majority of 400 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs.
“This project will enable the Rincon people to emerge from poverty and get off the welfare rolls,” said Currier. He added that the casino is tentatively scheduled to open in 2001.
Last fall, Davis reached agreements with most California tribes, setting the stage for them to operate or expand casino operations. In October, the Auburn Indians in Placer County northeast of Sacramento announced plans to build and operate a $100-million casino with Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas.
