Schwarzenegger boosts large casino near San Francisco
Schwarzenegger boosts large casino near San Francisco
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is reported to support building a massive Indian casino near San Francisco which is expected to generate up to $125 million in annual taxes.
Schwarzenegger has negotiated with the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians and allowed the 255-member tribe to build and operate the first major Indian casino in an urban area of California, reported Reuters.com.
The casino is reported to expand Las Vegas-style gambling in the state's cities filling the gap in the local market which offers small casinos only. Las Vegas resorts, which mainly serve visitors from California, have long lobbied against legislation to expand big, glitzy operations.
The new casino will provide 5,000 slot machines amid a 500,000 square-foot complex, competing huge U.S. gambling halls like Connecticut's Indian-run Foxwoods Resort, Mohegan Sun casinos and dwarf Las Vegas resorts.
"This casino is going to have at least 1,000 more slot machines than the biggest casino in Nevada. The machines would be lucrative for both the tribe and California's cash-strapped state government," commented I. Nelson Rose, a Whittier Law School professor.
The agreement due to be signed on Thursday states that the casino is to be located in San Pablo, California about 18 miles from San Francisco. According to the initial estimates, the casino would generate about $125 million annually in revenue. This money will help to solve budget problems which face a gap of about $5 billion in its next annual period.
