THE CHANNEL CASINOS
December 28, 2007
We don’t have a crystal ball but, we’re going to venture a guess as to what might happen with gaming in the State when the Channel is built, anyway.
The most recent version of the Channel was proposed by us, the National Outdoor Recreation Council, (NORC), on August 18, 2005, in the Press Enterprise, Desert Edition. It is a canal, actually, to be built from the Sea of Cortex, Mexico, to, and as far north as, Palm Springs, California. We call it the “Channel”, instead of the “Canal”, because that is how it is legally coached.
NORC is a non-profit corporation, so obscure and so unknown, that no one really took us seriously, in the beginning. The initial response to our proposal was cold, very cold. After all, how was such a tiny organization like NORC going to muster the seed capitol needed to kick the Channel off the ground? We weren’t!
We didn’t need recognition to know that the Channel is real, though. After all, we proposed it. We knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before the State recognized its importance; its necessity. Just as it was only going to be a matter of time before the Channel was recognized, it was only going to be a matter of time before the State realized it’s gaming potential, as well. With an abundance of two cheap sources of power, electricity and hydrogen, and international ports to be built up and down its length, it is not hard to imagine that. There is no question as to whether more gaming will come with the Channel. The only questions are, how big will it be and, how will the profits be split? We think that it will be huge. As for how the profits will be split, that is hard to tell. Neither, the Las Vegas Consortium of Las Vegas Casino Owners nor, the Big 4, (the Pechanga, Morongo, Sycuan and Agua Caliente, Southern California Compact Tribes), are aware that the Channel is real. Had the Las Vegas Consortium known that the Channel was real, they wouldn’t have placed the four Anti-Indian Gaming Referendums on the February 5, 2008 ballot. Instead, they would have done what the Tribes can’t do; invest heavily in the Channel. Had the Big 4 known that the Channel was real, they would have not invested their time and money elsewhere. Neither group can be blamed. How could they have known? The Channel was more than a well kept secret.
The major Political Parties have been extremely effective at spinning the Channel so that no one learned of, or rather, became convinced of, it’s reality. For two years, now, both Parties have been ditching, openly, on it; yet, in private, competing, viciously, to own it. The Republicans thought they won that battle when they got Gov. Schwarznneggar re-elected. Not too hard to do that when you find nearly 400 billion dollars you lost. How did he put it? Oh, yea; this is money the State didn’t know it had. They still haven’t revealed, to the public, where they found that money; have they? Even more astounding, the Democrats ain’t having a cow about it; are they? Did the Democrats acquiescence in defeat. Not by a long shot! It only convinced them, that much more, why it is so important for them to win this next up and coming Presidential Election. So, the race to own the Channel is still on; and, it is a hot one. After all, 40 billion a year in new government revenue, what to speak of the trillions in private profits to be made, is nothing to sneeze at.
One thing is for certain, though; the government is definitely going to get a bigger cut, this time. There is no way the people of this State are going to buy into that much extra gaming in California without realizing a bigger share of the gaming pie. We can only speculate as to what the Las Vegas Consortium and the Big 4 will do, after they realize that the Channel is real.
Will the Las Vegas Consortium withdraw their Referendums, after they get the Channel wake up call? Maybe! They may realize that going up against the grain is not such a good idea, any more. They may also realize that, if they don’t step up to the Channel plate soon, another group of deep pockets investors will step in to fill that vacancy. If that happens, there won’t be any reason to cut them a slice of the Channel Casino pie; will there? Can they withdraw their Referendums, now? Yes! There are three very specific legal ways for them to do that. These same three legal approaches could have been used by the Big 4. All three must have escaped their clever legal counsels, though. The Big 4’s legal approach, that, the cutoff date for submitting the required number of signatures was not met, is iffy, at best. With a Democratic controlled Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and a Republic controlled Supreme Court, they’re just rolling the dice on that one.
Will the Big 4 seek to forge an alliance with many of the other Tribes in California, after they get the Channel wake up call? Maybe! They may realize the potential for other Compact, and Non-Compact, Tribes to take the Channel Casinos from them. After all, the Channel will not cross any of their properties; and, for that reason, California is not obligated to make a compact with them. It may be too late, though. The Big 4 may have burned too many bridges, already. If they play their hand well, this time, just maybe, the Big 4 might come away with the Lion’s share.
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