Tribe Scales Back Casino Plan

Responding to opposition from Bay Area legislators, a California Indian tribe and investors have proposed scaling back plans for a sprawling, Las Vegas-style casino near San Francisco and Oakland.

The decision to downsize the plans comes with a week remaining for the controversial project to win legislative approval this year.

In a letter sent Friday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a representative of the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians said the tribe would halve the number of slot machines at its proposed San Pablo casino, from 5,000 to 2,500.

The concession offered by the Lytton Band changed the mind of at least one powerful opponent of the initial plans, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco).

“I will vote for it,” Burton said Sunday, adding that the smaller casino would satisfy his concerns. “I don’t know how other people will, but I will vote for it.”

The announcement comes as the state is attempting to approve lucrative revenue-sharing deals with five tribes, in addition to deals struck earlier this year with five others.

Acknowledging that some neighbors of the San Pablo project have criticized its size -- the proposed casino would dwarf most big-box stores like Costco and house twice the number of slot machines as a typical Las Vegas casino -- Tribal Chair Margie Mejia wrote that the reduction would be “a productive approach in the best interests of all.”

“It has become clear to us ... that some residents in the Bay Area have concerns about the impact of our project that they believe outweigh the economic benefits and job growth that will result from our compact,” Mejia wrote. “Because of our continued commitment to working with you for the benefit of the tribe, the people of California, and local communities, the Lytton Rancheria proposes to reduce the authorized number of slot machines by half, to 2,500.”

The San Pablo casino would be the state’s first large-scale Indian gambling operation in a major urban area. Other tribes and their financial backers covet locations close to major population centers, such as Garden Grove, not far from Disneyland.

Even with the reduction in slot machines, the San Pablo casino, which would be located at the site of an existing card club, would still rival the number of such devices at major Las Vegas casinos.

The proposed gambling center would be among the state’s largest and promises to be the most lucrative for the state under the new tribal casino accords. Under the agreement, the tribe would pay the state 25% of its profits from slot machines, which have the potential to generate up to $500 a day each. The tribe also would give the state a quarter of all profits from its card tables.

The governor’s office declined to comment on the announcement Sunday. Schwarzenegger has said he opposes urban gambling, but his aides say federal law requires that he negotiate with recognized tribes, including the Lytton band.

If the San Pablo proposal wins legislative approval, it would guarantee Vegas-style slot machines in an urban setting in advance of a November ballot initiative, Proposition 68, which is aimed at ending Indian tribes’ monopoly on slot machines by allowing the devices in card clubs and at horse tracks, many of which are in urban areas. Another initiative, Proposition 70, would authorize tribes to build casinos of unlimited size on their reservations.

Jerome Turk, a major investor in the San Pablo project, said in an interview that he and the 259-member tribe envision a casino that would cover two floors and contain 150 to 200 card tables. Although the governor’s office said the casino could include up to 5,000 slot machines, plans initially called for 4,000, Turk said.

Initial plans called for a casino that would cover 200,000 square feet, as well as an additional 250,000 square feet of restaurants and related facilities, including administrative space, Turk said. By comparison, big-box stores generally consume 100,000 square feet.

Additionally, the casino would have space for 6,000 cars. Turk estimated that construction of the casino would cost $450 million.

“Our vision is quite simple -- a project that everybody can be proud of,” Turk said.

Turk, who manages the Pala Indian casino in San Diego County, is chief executive of California Indian Gaming Development, which has the contract to finance and build the San Pablo casino, and California Indian Gaming Management, which would manage it.

Other major investors include the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, owners of a casino west of Sacramento; George Maloof, who owns the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and whose family owns the Sacramento Kings basketball team; and the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

“Money is a factor, obviously,” Turk said. “But it is not just about money. It is an opportunity to do something that will be a landmark in a sense because of its location and the project we’re trying to build. You don’t want to slap it together.”

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Times staff writer Virginia Ellis contributed to this report.