Solomon
04-20-2007, 11:29 PM
The California Senate on Thursday approved adding 22,500 slot machines to Indian casinos, which would be a 50 percent bump and the state's largest such expansion since tribes gained gambling rights.
Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, cited the labor issues and gambling's larger toll on society in urging lawmakers to vote against the bills. She said Indian gambling in the state had grown beyond what voters intended.
"Gambling is never a good thing for a state or a nation. It eats away; it's an addiction," she told The Associated Press.
The proposal now goes to the Assembly, where its fate is uncertain. Agreements similar to those approved Thursday never made it out of the Legislature last year, in large part because of objections from labor groups.
Indian gambling has grown to a $7 billion-a-year industry in California and has allowed tribes to become one of the most influential forces in state politics. An Associated Press review last week found that tribes had donated $1.6 million to the Democratic lawmakers who carried this year's casino-expansion bills.
Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, cited the labor issues and gambling's larger toll on society in urging lawmakers to vote against the bills. She said Indian gambling in the state had grown beyond what voters intended.
"Gambling is never a good thing for a state or a nation. It eats away; it's an addiction," she told The Associated Press.
The proposal now goes to the Assembly, where its fate is uncertain. Agreements similar to those approved Thursday never made it out of the Legislature last year, in large part because of objections from labor groups.
Indian gambling has grown to a $7 billion-a-year industry in California and has allowed tribes to become one of the most influential forces in state politics. An Associated Press review last week found that tribes had donated $1.6 million to the Democratic lawmakers who carried this year's casino-expansion bills.