On Monday, Governor Jerry Brown announced that he and northeastern San Diego County’s Pala Band of Mission Indians have signed an updated state gaming compact.
The new compact supersedes the prior agreement signed over a decade ago and dictates the operating terms of the Pala Casino. The terms of the new agreement increase the number of slot machines at the casino by 500 more than the prior compact. While the tribe now has the authority to operate 2,500 slots, at the current time it doesn’t have plans to add gaming devices, according to spokesman Jack Taylor.
Along with revenue sharing, the provisions of the compact cover mutual support of local jurisdictions for emergency medical services, fire, law enforcement, improvements to infrastructure, education, public transit, as well as other services that take care of the community’s needs, according to Governor Brown’s office.
Terms are also included that promote the stimulation of investments in renewable energy, water conservation projects or recycling, economic development not related to gaming and health care facilities that are mutually beneficial to the tribe as well as the community. Revenue will also continue to be shared by the Pala Band with non-gaming tribes, according to the Times of San Diego. According to the governor’s office, the new compact is in keeping with recent agreements that have been negotiated with other tribes that operate casinos, the constructive relationship between them and state gaming regulators, and the professional manner of the tribe’s regulators.
The tribe’s newly negotiated compact with the state of California comes just weeks before the Pala Casino’s Spa & Resort’s roll out of its new $5.6 million 10-acre RV Resort. The new facility is located on Highway 76 next to the hotel casino and is scheduled to be open for business on May 23, as confirmed by the casino. The new RV Resort features a host of amenities, including a luxury resort clubhouse and joins the region’s two other casinos that have dedicated RV facilities; the BlueWater Resort and Casino near Parker, Arizona and the Pechanga Resort & Casino near Temecula.