Schwarzenegger pushes California casinos

Schwarzenegger pushes California casinos

SAN FRANCISCO — With the state’s budget still in trouble, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced a deal with a group of Pomo Indians to plant a casino larger than any in Las Vegas or Atlantic City in an economically struggling town near San Francisco.

Some critics of Schwarzenegger’s move say the governor is attempting to fix the state’s budget by taking advantage of the poor, and others say the area where the casino will be built already is one of the state’s most congested urban corridors. The deal with the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, announced Aug. 19, authorizes construction of the largest urban casino in America along a major commuter freeway in San Pablo, about 15 miles north of Oakland, according to The New York Times.

If the agreement is approved by the state legislature and the department of the interior, the casino could house up to 5,000 slot machines, making it third in the United States only to two rural casinos in Connecticut, The Times said.  (TAB)