By all reports revenue at tribal operated casinos keeps going up. Tribes all across the country have seen a bounce back since the 2007-2008 recession....except Pala.
According to an article in Variety:
Excerpt:
According to the National Indian Gaming Commission, revenue from tribal casinos has grown from $5.4 billion in 1995 to $32.4 billion last year, representing a rise of 600%. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was signed into law by President Reagan in 1988 after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn existing laws on gaming and gambling on U.S.
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“Tribal gaming is a very elusive kind of fish,” he says. “They might not be experienced or business-savvy, but they’re getting better, bringing in expert outside management. But working with them is like dealing with individual governments. Each one is a sovereign nation with its own rules, regulations and protocol they adhere to.”
Doug Elmets runs his own Sacramento-based public relations company, which handles Thunder Valley, among other tribal gaming clients. “Every single casino, tribal council and member are intimately involved in operational decisions,” he says. “They have a responsibility to their members, their employees, as well as complying with the many provisions that require their intimate engagement and involvement.”
Read Full Article Here: Native American Bet on Gambling Enriches California and Reservations
It's hard to say if the Pala Casino has an actual revenue problem where business has dropped significantly - or - if the funds are being mismanaged. It could very well be a combination of both. The only way to find out is to have a forensic audit performed by an Independent Accounting Firm.
People need to ask themselves why Pala's tribal government has a larger budget for administering to a village of about 1000 people while many large Southern California City Municipal Governments with tens of thousands of people have much smaller budgets.
Where did it all go? Where did the loans go? What investments have been made? Has there been a return on those investments?
How many more vehicles does the Pala Government need? How many more private jets?
Maybe its time the Executive Committee take a cut in their budgets and stop asking the members to shoulder the burden they created.
