Throwing their consideral political clout around, the Morongo Band and The Pechanga Band (formerly know as and federally recognized as the Temecula Band) have joined forces to keep Californian's from enjoying internet gaming.
It started with behind-the-scenes politicking by a wealthy Southern California casino tribe and powerful card clubs that dreamed of making a mint by legalizing online poker in California.
But Tuesday, a bill to allow Californians to use their laptops and iPhones to legally wager over the Internet sputtered amid intense opposition from the very interests that initiated the online poker push.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians and card clubs, including the Commerce Casino and the Hollywood Park Casino, charged that the poker bill – as drafted – could allow offshore poker sites and Las Vegas casinos to run Internet gambling in California.
In February, Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, said his tribe would withhold more than $42 million in annual casino revenue sharing payments to California if the online games were legalized.
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