Pala Casino $5.6 million expansion; RV Resort ready to roll May 23
By K Morrison April 12, 2016
World Casino News
Pala Casino Spa & Resort’s new $5.6 million 10-acre RV Resort located on Highway 76 next to the hotel casino will be open for business next month as the casino confirmed a May 23 opening date.
The new RV Resort at Pala in northern San Diego County features 100 full-service sites and guests can choose from one of three site sizes, including 77 20’x55′ back in sites, 17 20’x70′ pull-through sites, six 20’x60′ luxury sites with barbeque grills, and 20 sites with 30-50 amp power. The luxury Resort Clubhouse features two spas and a heated swimming pool.
Read More Here->Pala Casino $5.6 million expansion; RV Resort ready to roll May 23
51 comments:
Staying at the new RV park includes all the horse, cow, goat and buffalo shit you can smell. No extra charge for this added feature. In the summer with the over 100 degree temps, the aroma therapy will be fantastic. 2 out buildings and a bunch of cement and a few trees cost 5 million? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
What a great expansion I bet it's going to bring in a lot more customers! Not, what a fucking waste of money..
Why so negative about potential return on investment? I think the RV park will be extremely successful and is a great opportunity for future expansion.
You mean return on Investment for Robert Smith and the EC, you know Pala members will not see a penny from it.
How do you know? Do you go to meetings, or are you just jumping on the bandwagon of whiners who complain, but don't try to address anything by speaking on the things that they have problems with. How much should members get from every investment, is that how the tribe ran prior to gaming, or did you even care then?
Why is it that with every investment Robert makes our per cap continues to go down?
What does per cap have to do with investment potential? How much should you get out of every investment the tribe creates? Why do you think per cap decreases and increases?
Robert spends millions on "investments" however tribal members per cap goes down. Where does all the money go? I think pala interactive was a great idea, but I don't see tribal members benefiting from it. It appears that any investment Robert makes is for personal gain. Not for the tribe
And Robert is listed as the owner of the Casino, is he listed as the owner of the Campgrounds too?
The e.c. is taking more homes,from Mike Subish,kids,More Trujillo family,some one needs to kick Hpward,and Roberts butt.
How will you know if the RV Resort produces any return on investment? Has the EC ever reported return on investment for capital expenditures in the Casino Resort and Spa? This is one of the problems. The EC invests money but does not report on revenue. What the members get is a phony EBITDA report that has no reference point. There is no way to tell how the investments perform or if there should be any change in the amount paid to members.
If the reporting was honest and accurate then there would be fluctuations. There would be over and under and it would be reported on a periodic basis. Over the course of a fiscal year you could see how the Casino performed, and you would know if the payments to the Band would need adjustment. There is no breakdown into categories on the reports the Band sees. You get silly pie charts that show what the EC wants to show.
The RV Resort financial results should be shown separately from the Casino, as should the Spa, and the Hotel, and the Restaurants, and the Events. Then you could see how the different "profit centers" were performing. You could then identify weak or strong areas and react with changes to improve performance.
I know I am talking about how real world business operates and the Pala EC does not operate a real world business. They run the business for their own personal profit. If the IGRA didn't force them to share with the Band they would probably keep it all for themselves. As it is they are significantly under reporting the revenue that should be paid to the Band.
How do we know this? It comes from business analysis of other gaming tribes in the region and on the national level. Pala could be on the lower end of the performance spectrum, but even then the amount of revenue reported to the Band doesn't add up.
So you tell me. Why is the amount paid to tribal members an even dollar amount no matter how the Casino performs? Why does the Band require such a large operating budget, and how come there are never any budget dollars left over? What actually happens to the Economic Opportunity funding, and why does the Band have such bad luck with its investments?
If you can answer these questions you will discover that there is a lot of money missing. You will discover that interest on banking is never reported. You will discover that federal funds from grants and programs are not included in tribal income. You will discover that tribal vehicles are replaced on a regular basis but there is no recovery on the sale of replaced vehicles. You will discover that some of the assets of the tribe have been converted to private ownership (by that I mean land and other items that have been purchased with tribal funds have been transferred over to individual ownership).
Now let's see you try to get the General Council to discuss this at a meeting before you expect someone else to do it. It is easy to call others whiners, but did you look in the mirror this morning and see someone who has been totally duped into believing what the EC says?
Better watch what you have with your coffee at the Food Mart in Pala.
Robert is trying to make the Cow Pies look like Danish rolls.
@ 1:45 PM
You know that you can't discuss any kind of business like that at a meeting, you can't even get on an agenda.
Or if by chance you do get on the agenda , Robert will cancel the Meeting just like he did last Wednesday's Meeting.
I think that they should have a Dunking Game at the Grand Opening and instead of using Water, they should collect all the Buffalo and Cow shit and mix it up in the Big Tub and have Robert, Dennis Truner, and
Theresa Nieto sit and try to DUNK THEM into the tub.
People would probably pay good money to take a chance at dunking them.
At least $2.00 a ball.
Good points, but I thought the GC gave the EC full control and power to conduct business on the tribes behalf, next time pay attention before you vote, or at least go to more than one meeting. Bad governance begets bad consequences, if you don't like the results, than change the EC and/or the ordinance that allows the EC total business control.
@ 3:50 PM, that's the best idea yet for the Grand Opening.
Shit I would even pay $5.00 per chance.
@ 11:26 AM
Which one of Mike Subish's kids are you referring to?
I will defend any of Mikes kids.
Tell us the truth please.
hey dumb ass .I would love to go to the meetings but the crooked EC has taken care of that are family we never give up to the EC I invite you to read the book of Daniel.
The GC approved the Pala Gaming Authority Ordinance. That Ordinance has a provision that the GC understands that it may be necessary to assign the Pala Casino to the Pala Gaming Authority in order to obtain financing. The Pala took this and ran with it. They appointed themselves as the Pala Gaming Authority, arranged for a buyout of the contract with Anchor Gaming and assigned ownership and management to to the Pala Gaming Authority. They still had to share money with Jerry Turk and he took a large percentage. Then the EC severed the business relationship with Jerry Turk and assumed all the ownership and management responsibilities for the Casino. They hired Bill Bembenek as General Manager and he performs the day to day management duties, but the EC has full authority.
If the GC wanted to dispute this arrangement they could rescind the Pala Gaming Authority Ordinance. It is basically a management contract that puts the EC in charge of the Casino. That is a violation of the IGRA. Elected tribal officials are prohibited from ownership and management interest in a licensed gaming establishment.
Is that going to happen? Probably not. Pala members would have to care enough to do something about the situation, then they would have to get the item on the agenda, and get it passed.
The idea that the GC gave the EC the authority to conduct all business for the Band comes from the EC. What really happened is that the GC approved an ordinance that gave the EC the authority to obtain financing for the Casino. In that Ordinance there was a provision that the EC could amend the Ordinance without the approval of the GC. So once the Ordinance got approved the EC amended it to give themselves authority to conduct all business on behalf of the Band.
This is how things work when you have corrupt tribal leaders. They aren't working for the benefit of the members. They are working to take a lot of money and are ready and willing to eliminate any opposition to their corruption. You see the evidence of this all the time. The main culprits are Robert Smith and Theresa Nieto. They have conspired to embezzle huge sums of money and to hide through phony financial report, control over the meeting agenda, revoking the right to participate in tribal government for the few members who are willing to oppose them, and disenrolling a large voting block so they can perpetuate their stranglehold on the Band.
They evict people, revoke land assignments, hire attorneys to give them legal advice on how to legally hurt tribal members, and entice other members to give them information on anyone who opposes them. It is a dictatorship plain and simple.
Now you can blame the members, and they could change things if enough of them organized and acted in concert. We tried to do that when we called a Council meeting and voted to suspend the EC. However, the EC was able to gather enough members and other people who aren't members to come to a meeting and revoked the right to participate in tribal government of those they could identify who challenged them.
Avoiding the meetings isn't really the answer, but I understand member's frustration with the lack of democracy. The meetings are stacked with EC supporters who yell down anyone that tries to speak freely. The votes are rigged. You become a target if you try to do the right thing.
And it worse than I am saying it is.
It's really sad that we have to give information to the FBI and the IRS against the leaders that are supposed to help our people.
When we go in on Wednesday the 20th, we will be the 23rd that will have been interviewed.
6:28 pm both of mike subish kids
More proof the disenrollments were not about blood degree. There are 2 people I know that are adopted into the tribe who has 1 enrolled parent that is 1/16 which makes them a 1/32 which is the same as the disenrollee's according to Robert and another person who along with their mother was adopted because they both don't even have a 1/16th blood degree. Then why won't Robert adopt in the disenrollee's even with his illegal lowering of their blood they still have more than other people that he adopts into the tribe??? He will adopt people that support him and will vote his way when called upon because the real members do not support him and know he is crooked. Only members that owe their membership to Robert will 100% support him because they know they are out if he is out. Rob has turned Pala into a private club and he is the chairman of the board who decides who gets membership no matter the qualifications. He will do anything to stay in power including breaking tribal law like he has continuously been doing. HE NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!! SOMETHING NEDS TO BE DONE!!
Yes this shit is getting old. He has been getting away with this abuse for too long. It's becoming a breaking point with some people. The EC thinks the more time that goes by the more people will get over it..wrong..the more time that goes by the closer people are getting to their breaking point. I don't blame them or have sympathy for whatever happens to Rob,Nieto,Maxcey or Dion.
Being a Pala member is a right decided by elders in the 60's. It's not something that can be decided or taken away by one tribal member. It's a born right that cannot be taken away! Banishment for crimes against the tribe yes but they are still members.
I am also tired of this unfair treatment. The EC won't even listen to reason. We have thoroughly explained the blood line to them. They know the brittian descendants belong.
If they can't be voted out because of the fixed elections then why doesn't someone just shoot them?
They seem to think that murder is just fine and dandy.
I don't believe that people are adopted into the tribe, because the tribe stopped adopting people into the tribe. You must be calculating their blood wrong, do you even know how much blood people have, do you know how to calculate blood quantum? How is a person with 1/32 enrolled, that is not true.
You should be asking Robert if he knows how to calculate blood quantum. He dissenrolled members that had the required blood.
Have you read the most recent enrollment ordinance? Ask for an updated constitution. Bet you won't get one? Remember we used to get copies of the constitution sent to us? That stopped because smith/Nieto didn't want us seeing what was re-worded or changed like the enrollment ordinance that states they can use "other" rolls to determine membership. It's not just the 1895 and 1913 rolls like it has always been. He uses different rolls for different people depending on who he wants to allow enrollment to. If 2 different rolls have conflicting blood degree's he will use the one with the higher degree to enroll this person and then use another roll to tell this person they don't meet the requirements. Think I'm lying?? Look into it for yourself before you start saying I'm wrong and smith/Nieto wouldn't do that. You will see people who were never enrolled before are now enrolled since smith/Nieto changed this enrollment ordinance because "they found more blood" ya right because they support smith/Nieto and their using false rolls like the 1928 CIJR which are stated by the tribe,BIA,census records to be wrong and contain mistakes and were ordered not to be used because many families were on there as higher are lower blood degree than on all the other rolls. But hey if your a smith/Nieto supporter and your families blood degree is higher on the 1928 roll compared to the 20 other rolls than they will use it for you and if it's lower and they don't want you in it will be used for you as well and the other 20 rolls will be disregarded.
What the f@*$ does that have to do with adoption? Adopting people into a tribe is not about blood quantum, the people who you say we're "adopted" have the correct blood quantum. How do you know which roll the tribe is using to determine Margarita Brittans blood quantum, how do you know what document they are utilizing to lower her blood if the EC never "presented" their evidence or documents utilized for the EC's decision to disenroll. Why are you only picking on Smith, Nieto, Perez, and Miranda, how about the other EC members aren't they to blame also, and how do you know who voted for what or how the disenrollment even was voted for by the EC. A lot of people do not know who their fathers are, their should be a lot more disenrollments to follow. The whole tribe should get a blood quantum audit.
Like Cindy leal? Oh I 100% agree Pala should do an audit of every member and I am a Margarita Brittain descendant. Rincon did it the tribe voted on it until over 200 people realized they had less blood than they thought and tried to stop it. After the disenrollments and having to look at all kinds of historical documents and census records along with statements from original allotee's I welcome a tribal audit of the blood lines. I know my family is safe do you?? Pala could fix the rolls across the board then start using that roll as the base roll for future enrollment. You need to fix it eventually or keep enrollemt as is once a member always a member including the disenrollee's.
Cindy Leal, she is Dwayne Lavatos daughter. If an internal audit did occur, they GC would have to get expert advice in the field, research how other tribes have re-done their enrollment, create a framework for this particular community and it's history, be sure to allow for culture and traditions, and create their own way of belonging. I agree, this must be done, sooner rather than later, within two generations it will have to be done. Why wait and burden your great-grandchildren. We should be thinking about solving problems now and leaving this community a better place for our future people. Be forwaed-thinking and try to learn how our ancestors though about the world, if it wasn't for their forward thinking, we wouldn't be here.
Go ahead and discuss the future of PBMI enrollment, but it is the present that is the problem. First you have the enrollment ordinance that violates the Constitution because it allows for other documents to determine enrollment eligibility besides the 1895 and 1913 rolls and allows the Enrollment Committee to review those already enrolled as new applicants.
Then you have an Enrollment Committee that consists of the Executive Committee which is a conflict of interest. There is nothing to stop the EC from enrolling their family, friends, and supporters and getting rid of the opposition.
Then you have all the mistakes that have already been made, and all the people who have been illegitimately disenrolled who should be reinstated.
So a blood degree audit would not fix things. There would still be an ordinance that contradicts the Constitution, an EC that is biased, and a host of errors that need to be corrected. All the blood degree audit would do is identify more errors.
This enrollment Audit will never happen here in Pala.
Because if it did all the Smiths, Nieto's, Lugo's and a few others would be kicked off the rolls.
If the people really want a change in the EC members all they need to do is call for a forensic Audit of the financial records of the Tribe
because that's is what's being covered up by Robert and Theresa Nieto.
This would solve a lot of problems in Pala and that's why Robert and T.N. will not allow it to happen.
Forensic audit..great idea except Smith/Nieto will NEVER allow that to happen they couldn't. Unless the NIGC or someone more powerful ordered it. Percap would probably double and we would get out bonuses back but most members are to lazy to care about anything more than the few $$ smith/Nieto allow us to have.
I don't want to talk down even about members of my own family but without the percap (which is not our fair share) they would have no money because let's be real they don't or wouldn't have jobs. They won't speak up cuz they are happy with any free $$ thrown their way because without it they would have nothing. If they would just open their eyes and put down the pipe they would see or care what's going on with our tribe and what the EC has done to it and what they are taking right from under our noses. We deserve better and we all deserve fairness. We are 1 people a tribe. We haven't been a people/tribe in years since smith/Nieto and their followers on the EC starting taking more for themselves and punishing and dividing the people to suit their needs and stay in control. They only care about money and power and that is not tribal. The truth hurts some time and this is the truth we "Pala" need change openness and the EC should be open to it as well why are they so secretive and afraid to allow the members the people see how the tribe operates and how our finances are. They should be open to an audit to prove to everyone that what's said against them are lies. Instead of saying all the charges against them are lies and people hating then prove it. Show us proof,documents,evidence. We want to support our council but it's hard when they just say it's not true but don't ever give us proof when the other side has posted all kinds of documents and proof. I hav not seen 1 thing that our EC has done to justify or back themselves up. It makes me continue to question their actions and honesty. SO AS A TRIBAL MEMBER IM ASKING MY LEADERS PLEASE GIVE US SOMETHING SHOW US SOMETHING PROVE SOMETHING .GIVE US SOMETHING. WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOU BUT YOU MAKE IT SO HARD WHEN YOUR OPPOSITION SHOWS SO MUCH THAT CONTRADICTS EVERYTHING YOU SAY AND DO. WE DONT WANT TO HEAR " WE DONT NEED TO SHOW OR PROVE ANYTHING TO THEM" WELL YES YOU DO TO US TO THE PEOPLE. YOU ARE GETTING LESS AND LESS SUPPORT FROM THE PEOPLE BY YOUR ACTIONS. CANCELLING MEETINGS WHEN SOMETHING COMES UP AND YOU DONT WANT TO ANSWER QUESTIONS DOESNT HELP. DO SOMETHING BEFORE THE PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO.
The EC is not going to say or do anything about nothing. They are not going to give up their GRAVY TRAIN.
They are to greedy, and corrupt.
Robert makes $200.000 per year for being chairman plus his per cap, plus money that he is paid for sitting on some of the Boards.
And add that to his wife's per capita, and his step daughter's per capita plus all the unaccountable money that he steals and you will have a income of over a couple of Million Dollars per year or more.
Do the math people he is a fucking crook.
Oh and don't forget the kick backs from Contractors and vendors at the Casino.
One of the best ways for him to steal from the Tribe is by doing expansions at the Casino which pays him hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars as kick backs.
He does not care how much of the Tribes money that he spends because he gets very large returns from the kickbacks.
However I believe that the IRS is on his trail along with other members of the EC. and soon they will be held accountable.
Couple of Million?
Robert Smith is getting per-capita. He has a black AmEx card that he uses for whatever and the Band pays the bill. He gets comped at the Casino. He gets salary for being Chairman. He gets shares of phantom stock in Pala Interactive. He gets a share of the licensing fees for Pala Interactive gaming software. He collects a salary from being on the Southern California Tribal Chairman's association; don't laugh, but he gets more from SCTCA than he gets as Chairman of Pala. He gets a salary from California Tribal Business Alliance. He gets paid from being on the Pala Gaming Authority. He gets the profits from the Pala Laundry, and the Mini-Mart.
Now that is what we can identify as legitimate sources of income. Then there is the illegitimate income. He gets the skim from the cash tables at the Casino. He gets to keep the interest from any bank accounts or investments. He stole the trust funds of the minor disenrollees. He has a slush fund from the tribal budget; it's hard to say how much that is, but the budget gets used every year, even after disenrolling 164 members, and it never goes down. The Band reduced its insurance costs by disenrolling members but the budget stayed the same, and the extra went into Smith's pocket.
He sells the used tribal vehicles and keeps the money. When vehicles get repaired they go to Goodpasture's shop and the Band is double billed and Smith and Goodpasture split the money. The Band's economic development fund is used to buy real estate and other stuff that all gets transferred over to Robert Smith, then he reports the investments as lost. How much is that per year? $20 million.
He uses the Pala Casino money for investments, loans, and steals what he can. The Casino pays the tribe 60% of net revenue. The rest can be used by the Casino Resort and Spa for capital investments and expenditure. We have estimated that the Casino grosses $800 million to $1 Billion a year. On the national average it takes about 57% of gross for operating and capital expenditure costs. Let's take the low end for estimating purpose. 57% of $800 million is $456 million. So the Casino should be paying the Band $273.6 million a year, or $22.8 million a month. What is the EC reporting? I don't know. The last numbers I saw are years old now, but at the time the EC was reporting about half that as income to the Band.
Anyway that leaves $182.4 million a year for the Chairman to play with. He doesn't steal it all. Plenty goes to lobbying, legal fees, and bribes. It costs a lot to keep all this embezzlement secret. Then there are operating and financing costs for Pala Interactive. They still don't make a real profit yet.
When all is said and done the Chairman pulls down between $100 and $150 million a year. What does he do with all that money? He buys houses, and real estate, he puts it in offshore accounts, and he parties. He parties a lot. He flies around the country in the Pala Jets and takes family and buddies on trips. And who knows what else? Mostly I think he squanders the money, but there are a lot of assets out there that he is concealing.
So when you say a couple of million it is really way off. Now you have to think of what life would be like in Pala if the Chairman didn't rip the Band off and actually shared the money.
Cindy Leal is not,a Lavato,she and her sister had a D.N.A.last year ,her sister is a lavato Cindy is not.The E.C.got the paper work,with proof.Take her off our rolls.
Yes the everybody knows including the EC but they adopted her into the tribe she is a member. That's why she is such a Ronert supporter he got he kept her enrolled. Blood does not matter at Pala in all cases.
I thought that Tribal adoptions were to be voted on by the General Membership, not the EC or the enrollment committee.
If she was adopted into the Tribe it was a big mistake, because all she does is abuse Tribal Elders and bad mouth Members of the Tribe.
And also why are her Kids enrolled?
Being adopted does not mean that your kids are to be enrolled.
This needs to be taken care of ASAP. It is not right to have adopted people on the Rolls and disenroll true legit members.
We are working hard to prove that she should be taken off the Tribal Rolls along with her Kids.
There is an Investigator working on it as I post.
The EC is responsible for this if it turns out to be true and should be held to answer why it was done behind the backs of the Members.
Who is we? How long will that take, you guys have been saying the FBI is going to make arressts, shit get it over already and raid some houses and arressted people or stop bullshitting
Another MURDER in Pala on Sunday night.
What happened?
http://www.cbs8.com/story/31807246/death-under-investigation-at-pala-reservation
It says he was shot numerous times.
FUCK YOUR CAMPGROUND, OR KILLING GROUNDS OR WHAT EVER YOU NAME IT.
Watch out for the one hundred year flooding that's due to hit soon.
The last one was in 1916, so 2016 is here.
This new Campsite should be a separate business enterprise for the Tribe and treated as such.
BUT I am willing to bet that with the Financial booking of the EC it will be thrown into the mix with all the other ones and therefore
there will never be an accounting for any monies that the campsite makes so the Members can KISS another 6.5 million dollars GOOD BUY.
I wonder how much the EC paid for all the rentals of RV's that were parked there for the opening day.
Some are still there for sale with phone numbers from dealers.
Go look for yourself.
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