Pala Casino Tries to Keep Up with the Joneses with $170 Million Expansion to Southern California Resort
JULY 30, 2017 BY KEVIN HORRIDGE
Excerpt:
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Gambling Sunny in California
The Pala Casino announcement is just the latest in a laundry list of resort overhauls in Southern California.
Pechanga’s current renovation is costing the tribal group $285 million. Construction is also taking place at the Barona Casino & Resort, Sycuan Casino, and Viejas Casino & Resort, all properties which are located in the San Diego area. Those tribes, however, aren’t revealing how much money they’re spending.
The Pala Band of Mission Indians says it needed to update its property to adapt to customer demand. Speaking to the pool area, which will be transformed to resemble a space typically found at major resorts in Las Vegas and to include bars, fire pits, and cabanas, Pala CEO Bill Bembenek explained that visitors are looking for a more luxurious experience.
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Slow Rollout
Pala Interactive, the tribe’s internet gaming division, has been operating in New Jersey through a partnership with Borgata since the fall of 2014. PalaCasino.com has been one of four live websites under the land-based resort, the others being BorgataCasino.com, BorgataPoker.com, and NJ.PartyPoker.com.
The New Jersey PalaPoker.com rollout was delayed for several years, while waiting for the arrival of PokerStars. But since the company’s poker site launch last month, traffic has been slow-to-nonexistent: according to PokerScout, PalaPoker is averaging just two players a week on average.
While New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement doesn’t break down internet gaming revenues by site, Borgata’s partners have generated $23.48 million in year-to-date income. Only the Golden Nugget ($33 million) has made more from iGaming.
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Read full article at link above
Showing posts with label Pechanga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pechanga. Show all posts
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Fake Casino Chips
Counterfeiting Suspect Told Deputies She Flew to China, Vietnam for Fake Casino Chips: Docs
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A suspect in a San Diego County Sheriff's Department investigation told detectives she flew to China and Vietnam to get millions of dollars worth of fake casino chips and labels for local casinos.
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Deputies arrested Lien Do, Hao Nguyen and Ben Ven Pham on Christmas Day last year, after a detective asked a judge for a search warrant for Pham and Do's Garden Grove home.
At the casino, Sheriff detectives found $300,000 worth of counterfeit chips in the suspects' car.
"It appears that what they were seeking to do was convert those chips into cash and to walk out the casino with the cash," said District Attorney Prosecutor Daniel Shim.
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Detectives found casino player cards for Sycuan, Pala, Pechanga and Viejas.
Read more at link above
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A suspect in a San Diego County Sheriff's Department investigation told detectives she flew to China and Vietnam to get millions of dollars worth of fake casino chips and labels for local casinos.
#
Deputies arrested Lien Do, Hao Nguyen and Ben Ven Pham on Christmas Day last year, after a detective asked a judge for a search warrant for Pham and Do's Garden Grove home.
At the casino, Sheriff detectives found $300,000 worth of counterfeit chips in the suspects' car.
"It appears that what they were seeking to do was convert those chips into cash and to walk out the casino with the cash," said District Attorney Prosecutor Daniel Shim.
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Detectives found casino player cards for Sycuan, Pala, Pechanga and Viejas.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Politics of Online Gambling
The politics surrounding online gambling in the United States is getting a bit more interesting lately. It's no secret big money gets legislation passed at the State level as well as at the Federal level. Initially several tribes including Pala, Pechanga, Agua Caliente, United Auburn, Morongo, Rincon as well as many others began throwing money at State legislators in hopes of getting legislation passed that would legalize Online Poker. There's been some in-fighting and disputes about what this legislation should look like. But for the most part things keep moving forward.
Initially many tribes took a stance against online gambling or tried to carve out exceptions so that only tribes could have online gambling. This tactic has seemed to have failed and so it's now become if you can't beat them join them.
Currently there are two pending bills each supported by rival factions to try to legalize online poker in California. There seems to be some consensus that perhaps with enough time and money for the politicians the two bills could perhaps be merged if the rival factions can come to some agreements on key aspects of the bills. Most still seems to think online poker in California is still at least 1 to 2 years away from becoming a reality.
In the meantime some States like New Jersey and Delaware have already legalized internet gambling leading some to speculate perhaps the Federal Government would also eventually legalize internet gambling.
And then something that may have been unexpected happened. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina introduced legislation that would essentially make internet gambling illegal. Obviously this would derail efforts in California to make online poker legal. Senator Diane Feinstein of California is a co-sponsor of this legislation. This has ruffled the feathers of several Indian Tribes who have been throwing money at trying to make online poker legal.
So why this sudden interest from Lindsay Graham and Diane Feinstein in making online gambling illegal? Turns out Las Vegas Sands owner and Billionaire Sheldon Adelson who hopes to buy the next Republican President urged Lindsay to introduce the bill. Mr. Adelson is extremely concerned that internet gambling would cut into the profits of his brick and mortar casinos.
Feinstein is likely an opportunist in all this. She can probably sense that by supporting a ban on internet gambling she will soon receive contributions from Indian Tribes in California hoping they can get her to change her mind. On the other hand any time a billionaire wants something done it can be quite beneficial to one's political coffers to go along with it. No doubt Lindsay Graham will benefit from introducing the ban. For Feinstein it's a win-win. She will either get money from Mr. Adelson or from the Indians Tribes and most likely from both.
Indian Tribes in California are now going up against Billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Better open up those check books. But don't fret just yet. The bill would have to pass the Senate which is probably going to be difficult. If it manages to get out of the Senate it would then have to pass the House and be signed by the President in order to become law. This will take time.
It's turning into quite an interesting poker game with Sheldon Adelson now buying in and raising the ante. The question now is if the forces that support online gambling have enough money to go up against the big boys. Other big casino owners such as Steve Wynn also oppose online gambling.
Remember who tried to block Indian Gaming for a while? Las Vegas. What eventually happened? Vegas backed ventures ended up building and investing in many Indian Casinos. Who is trying to block online gambling now? Las Vegas.
Initially many tribes took a stance against online gambling or tried to carve out exceptions so that only tribes could have online gambling. This tactic has seemed to have failed and so it's now become if you can't beat them join them.
Currently there are two pending bills each supported by rival factions to try to legalize online poker in California. There seems to be some consensus that perhaps with enough time and money for the politicians the two bills could perhaps be merged if the rival factions can come to some agreements on key aspects of the bills. Most still seems to think online poker in California is still at least 1 to 2 years away from becoming a reality.
In the meantime some States like New Jersey and Delaware have already legalized internet gambling leading some to speculate perhaps the Federal Government would also eventually legalize internet gambling.
And then something that may have been unexpected happened. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina introduced legislation that would essentially make internet gambling illegal. Obviously this would derail efforts in California to make online poker legal. Senator Diane Feinstein of California is a co-sponsor of this legislation. This has ruffled the feathers of several Indian Tribes who have been throwing money at trying to make online poker legal.
So why this sudden interest from Lindsay Graham and Diane Feinstein in making online gambling illegal? Turns out Las Vegas Sands owner and Billionaire Sheldon Adelson who hopes to buy the next Republican President urged Lindsay to introduce the bill. Mr. Adelson is extremely concerned that internet gambling would cut into the profits of his brick and mortar casinos.
Feinstein is likely an opportunist in all this. She can probably sense that by supporting a ban on internet gambling she will soon receive contributions from Indian Tribes in California hoping they can get her to change her mind. On the other hand any time a billionaire wants something done it can be quite beneficial to one's political coffers to go along with it. No doubt Lindsay Graham will benefit from introducing the ban. For Feinstein it's a win-win. She will either get money from Mr. Adelson or from the Indians Tribes and most likely from both.
Indian Tribes in California are now going up against Billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Better open up those check books. But don't fret just yet. The bill would have to pass the Senate which is probably going to be difficult. If it manages to get out of the Senate it would then have to pass the House and be signed by the President in order to become law. This will take time.
It's turning into quite an interesting poker game with Sheldon Adelson now buying in and raising the ante. The question now is if the forces that support online gambling have enough money to go up against the big boys. Other big casino owners such as Steve Wynn also oppose online gambling.
Remember who tried to block Indian Gaming for a while? Las Vegas. What eventually happened? Vegas backed ventures ended up building and investing in many Indian Casinos. Who is trying to block online gambling now? Las Vegas.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Genocide By Paper
All up and down the State of California and in many other places across the United States disenrollments have been taking place for the last 7 to 10 years. The increase in disenrollments seems to coincide with the rise of Indian Gaming.
Casinos have sort of created the Perfect Storm for disenrollments. Every Indian Tribe is unique in how they organize and determine their membership. But one thing each tribe seems to have in common are long standing feuds between family groups. Prior to the casinos the bickering between families often took place in meetings and were resolved by elections.
Casinos however have given Indian Tribes tremendous resources to do many things. They can hire law firms and business professionals to help grow their businesses. They can hire lobbyists and send them to Washington D.C. to protect their interest. They can work with State and Local governments on things such as road and infrastructure improvements.
The other by-product of all this is the consolidation of political power. Leaders of tribes are well aware of their political opposition and disenrollments have become to tool of choice to quell any opposition. There is also a financial component to disenrollments particularly for smaller tribes. The less members a tribe has the more per capita distribution there is for the remaining members. All of this leads to a Perfect Storm for disenrollments.
Original Pechanga's Blog has done a great job of documenting disernollments up and down the State of California.
The list is long and includes Pechanga, Redding Rancheria, San Pasqual, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, Robinson Rancheria, and The Pala Band of MIssion Indians, among others.
Not surprising, the position of the U.S. Government has been "hands off" Indian Tribes. The policy of the U.S. Government toward the Indigenous Peoples of America has long been eradication and assimilation.
Toward the end of the 19th Century the public's enthusiasm for the extermination of Native Ameicans waned. The Calvary was no longer being sent in to slaughter tribes. Instead, tribes were forced onto reservations. Government Officials then set about essentially setting up tribal membership by blood quantum. While blood quantum was not explicitly defined in the Dawes Act government officials did use long standing blood quantum laws for the purpose of determining who should receive allotments.
We can see this in the 1913 Pala Allotment Roll where those who received allotments were either 4/4 or 1/2. No one less than 1/2 received an allotment including the children of Margarita Brittain.
In many ways blood quantum was just another way the U.S. Government could ensure the final destruction of Indian Tribes particularly smaller tribes. It was a form of Paper Genocide. Larger tribes still have many full blood and half blood members. There is no risk of them interbreeding resulting in genetic disorders. Larger tribes tend to have a larger blood quantum requirement - either 1/2 or 1/4 blood.
Smaller tribes have a much rougher time of it. Their survival depends on pro-creation. When Pala set out to organize itself as a tribe and determine its membership they were well aware of this conundrum. Very few fullbloods were left of parenting age. There was also the issue of blood in general. Pala's membership consists of a mix of Indian Blood which includes Kupa, Luiseno, Cahuilla, Yaqi, and Kumeyaay.
Because of this mix "Pala Blood" was determined to be those on the 1895 and 1913 Pala Allotment Rolls. No distinction was made between the various different types of Indians that resided at Pala.
Americans often think fondly and romanticize about the Iroquois concept of making plans for the 7th Generation. In some respect the People of Pala did make plans for the future generations and did what they could to ensure their survival as a tribe. As such the blood quantum was set to 1/16 so they could protect their grandchildren and great grand children.
And while this solution seemed to work for a time it was in effect kicking the can down the road. The fullbloods and nearly all the half bloods have passed. Pala is composed primarily of 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 degree of Indian Blood. These generations are struggling to keep the tribe moving forward into the future.
At a time when Indian Tribes up and down the State of California should be strengthening their membership and ensuring their survival tribes have instead turned to disenrollments. In the short run this may seen like a good idea for a variety of reasons ranging from a consolidation of political power and increased financial benefit.
But over the long term it's tribal suicide. Indian Tribes are finishing the job the U.S. Government could not complete and that is the eradication of tribes in general. This is why in my opinion the U.S. Government is taking such an unprecedented hands off approach to Indian Tribes. They see the long game. They know eventually smaller tribes will destroy themselves.
Many tribes have already gone bankrupt, had their casinos put into receivership, and now struggle for survival. There is nothing more Las Vegas and Wall St would like to see than for casinos to be out of the hands of Indians and into the hands of Las Vegas developers and investment bankers.
It's Paper Genocide and in many ways it was all set up by the U.S. Government which established blood quantum knowing it would eventually lead to the demise of the smaller groups of Native Americans. Sure, larger tribes will survive but the odds of smaller tribes making it another 100 years grows less and less each year.
I am often confronted by people who lament that many Indians these days do not know much about their language, their culture, or their religions. When this happens I remind them that the U.S. Government prevented Indian Children from speaking their Native language, practicing their religion, or engaging in cultural activities. It was forced assimilation and the whole purpose was to eradicate Native American Culture.
Now all the U.S. Government has to do is sit back and wait as Paper Genocide continues to ravage Indian Country finishing off the job the American People lost the stomach for 120 years ago.
Casinos have sort of created the Perfect Storm for disenrollments. Every Indian Tribe is unique in how they organize and determine their membership. But one thing each tribe seems to have in common are long standing feuds between family groups. Prior to the casinos the bickering between families often took place in meetings and were resolved by elections.
Casinos however have given Indian Tribes tremendous resources to do many things. They can hire law firms and business professionals to help grow their businesses. They can hire lobbyists and send them to Washington D.C. to protect their interest. They can work with State and Local governments on things such as road and infrastructure improvements.
The other by-product of all this is the consolidation of political power. Leaders of tribes are well aware of their political opposition and disenrollments have become to tool of choice to quell any opposition. There is also a financial component to disenrollments particularly for smaller tribes. The less members a tribe has the more per capita distribution there is for the remaining members. All of this leads to a Perfect Storm for disenrollments.
Original Pechanga's Blog has done a great job of documenting disernollments up and down the State of California.
The list is long and includes Pechanga, Redding Rancheria, San Pasqual, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, Robinson Rancheria, and The Pala Band of MIssion Indians, among others.
Not surprising, the position of the U.S. Government has been "hands off" Indian Tribes. The policy of the U.S. Government toward the Indigenous Peoples of America has long been eradication and assimilation.
Toward the end of the 19th Century the public's enthusiasm for the extermination of Native Ameicans waned. The Calvary was no longer being sent in to slaughter tribes. Instead, tribes were forced onto reservations. Government Officials then set about essentially setting up tribal membership by blood quantum. While blood quantum was not explicitly defined in the Dawes Act government officials did use long standing blood quantum laws for the purpose of determining who should receive allotments.
We can see this in the 1913 Pala Allotment Roll where those who received allotments were either 4/4 or 1/2. No one less than 1/2 received an allotment including the children of Margarita Brittain.
In many ways blood quantum was just another way the U.S. Government could ensure the final destruction of Indian Tribes particularly smaller tribes. It was a form of Paper Genocide. Larger tribes still have many full blood and half blood members. There is no risk of them interbreeding resulting in genetic disorders. Larger tribes tend to have a larger blood quantum requirement - either 1/2 or 1/4 blood.
Smaller tribes have a much rougher time of it. Their survival depends on pro-creation. When Pala set out to organize itself as a tribe and determine its membership they were well aware of this conundrum. Very few fullbloods were left of parenting age. There was also the issue of blood in general. Pala's membership consists of a mix of Indian Blood which includes Kupa, Luiseno, Cahuilla, Yaqi, and Kumeyaay.
Because of this mix "Pala Blood" was determined to be those on the 1895 and 1913 Pala Allotment Rolls. No distinction was made between the various different types of Indians that resided at Pala.
Americans often think fondly and romanticize about the Iroquois concept of making plans for the 7th Generation. In some respect the People of Pala did make plans for the future generations and did what they could to ensure their survival as a tribe. As such the blood quantum was set to 1/16 so they could protect their grandchildren and great grand children.
And while this solution seemed to work for a time it was in effect kicking the can down the road. The fullbloods and nearly all the half bloods have passed. Pala is composed primarily of 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 degree of Indian Blood. These generations are struggling to keep the tribe moving forward into the future.
At a time when Indian Tribes up and down the State of California should be strengthening their membership and ensuring their survival tribes have instead turned to disenrollments. In the short run this may seen like a good idea for a variety of reasons ranging from a consolidation of political power and increased financial benefit.
But over the long term it's tribal suicide. Indian Tribes are finishing the job the U.S. Government could not complete and that is the eradication of tribes in general. This is why in my opinion the U.S. Government is taking such an unprecedented hands off approach to Indian Tribes. They see the long game. They know eventually smaller tribes will destroy themselves.
Many tribes have already gone bankrupt, had their casinos put into receivership, and now struggle for survival. There is nothing more Las Vegas and Wall St would like to see than for casinos to be out of the hands of Indians and into the hands of Las Vegas developers and investment bankers.
It's Paper Genocide and in many ways it was all set up by the U.S. Government which established blood quantum knowing it would eventually lead to the demise of the smaller groups of Native Americans. Sure, larger tribes will survive but the odds of smaller tribes making it another 100 years grows less and less each year.
I am often confronted by people who lament that many Indians these days do not know much about their language, their culture, or their religions. When this happens I remind them that the U.S. Government prevented Indian Children from speaking their Native language, practicing their religion, or engaging in cultural activities. It was forced assimilation and the whole purpose was to eradicate Native American Culture.
Now all the U.S. Government has to do is sit back and wait as Paper Genocide continues to ravage Indian Country finishing off the job the American People lost the stomach for 120 years ago.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Original Pechanga's Asks Gabriel Iglesias To Please Cancel His Performance At Pechanga
If you are a regular reader of Original Pechanga's Blog then you probably saw the story they posted of how Bill Cosby canceled his show to show support for the disenrolled Chukchansi People.
Original Pechanga's is now asking Gabriel Iglesias (Fluffy) to cancel his show at Pechanga Resort & Casino to show solidarity with the disenrolled Pechanga Members:
Request to Gabriel Iglesias: Please CANCEL your Performance At Pechanga
Mr. Gabriel Iglesias
Creative Artist Agency
2000 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
tel: 424-288-2000
fax: 424-288-2900
Dear Mr. Iglesias,
We are writing this letter in the hope that you will cancel your show at the Pechanga Resort and Casino, scheduled for October 6.
I’d like to make you aware of the disgraceful actions that are happening on the Pechanga Reservation. The Pechanga Tribal Council, led by Mark Macarro, has stripped the citizenship 25% of Pechanga Tribal Members, including the descendents of the original chief of the Pechanga Tribe. They most recently disenrolled the Paulina Hunter descendants. Paulina Hunter was an original allotee of Pechanga and her family still resides on the reservation, where apartheid is still practiced, 18 years after it was abolished in South Africa.
I am sure that the decimation of culture, history and beliefs are not within your value system.
Stand with the disenrolled members of Pechanga. There may be a protest during your performance date and we are informing the entertainment press about the request for acts not to perform at Pechanga. We all enjoy your show and performances and would love to watch your show, elsewhere. Please do not do your show at Pechanga. Tell the PDC that you won’t play at a location that violates the civil and human rights of it own people Thank you for your support.
Bill Cosby REFUSED to perform at Chukchansi in Fresno because of that tribe’s disenrollment action.
I have included some information with this packette, but your team can check the website Original Pechanga’s Blog at http://originalpechanga.com
Respectfully,
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Please help support Original Pechanga's Blog in asking Fluffy to cancel his show.
I was looking at the Pala Casino Resort and Spa website to see what entertainment they have coming up. It's mostly tribute bands and Dance Parties. But they do have Brian Regan performing on August 25th and John Pinette performing on November 17th.
Compare that to the entertainment at Pechanga Resort & Casino which has Ringo Starr, Jay Leno, Smokey Robinson, Steve Martin, and the Gypsy Kings all performing in the next 30 days.
Perhaps it's worth contacting other entertainers as well to make them aware of all the injustices being inflicted on Tribal Members all across America.
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