Casino San Pablo Of Lytton Rancheria

  1. Lytton Casino San Pablo
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  • San Pablo Lytton Casino 13255 San Pablo Avenue San Pablo, CA 94806.

Lytton Band of Pomo Indians explained. The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Native Americans. They were recognized in the late 1980s, as lineal descendants of the two families who lived at the Lytton Rancheria in Healdsburg, California from 1937 to about 1960. The tribe now has around 275 enrolled members.

The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians is a federally recognized tribe of PomoNative Americans. They were recognized in the late 1980s, as lineal descendants of the two families who lived at the Lytton Rancheria in Healdsburg, California from 1937 to about 1960. The tribe now has around 275 enrolled members. It has a casino in San Pablo, California, and has proposed to build housing for tribe members, plus a winery and a hotel, just west of Windsor, California, in Sonoma County.

  • 4Casino in San Pablo

History[edit]

Lytton Casino San Pablo

The tribe was founded in 1937 by Bert Steele, who was one-quarter Achomawi and part Nomlaki, and his wife, a Pomo from Bodega Bay, when they successfully petitioned the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs for the right to build on a 50-acre (200,000 m2) plot north of Healdsburg north of Lytton Station Road after Steele's home was destroyed in a flood. Along with his brother-in-law, John Myers, and his wife, Mary Myers Steele (both Pomo from Sonoma), he moved onto the land, which the government had set aside for Native Americans.[1] This land became the Lytton Rancheria and the namesake for the tribe.

In 1958, in accordance with a policy of assimilating Native Americans into the rest of American society, Congress terminated the federal trust in the reservations lands of over forty California bands, including the Lytton Rancheria. The Lytton band was dissolved and its land was deeded to its members. As part of the agreement, the government agreed to perform several improvements on the land, such as building roads and installing sewage service, but failed to do so. Within a year, the land-owning Lyttons had all sold, for reasons that are not clear; some current tribe members say that their ancestors did not understand property taxes and so were forced to sell, while other sources dispute that claim.

In 1991 the Lyttons successfully petitioned the government to restore their tribal status. Though the Lytton Band does not divulge a complete list of members, as of April 5, 2005 there are about 275 members.[2]

Other bands of Pomo include the Guideville Band of Pomo Indians and the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians.

Pablo

Language[edit]

Taken from Pomoan languages, see more: Pomoan languages

The Pomoan, or Pomo/ˈpm/,[3] languages are a small family of Native Californian languages spoken by the Pomo people who formerly occupied the valley of the Russian River and the Clear Lake basin. The Pomoan languages are severely endangered – with the exception of Kashaya, which had few dozen speakers in the 1990s, they are spoken by only a handful of elderly people. Northern Pomo and Northeastern Pomo are without known speakers and presumed to be extinct.

A vast majority of people in the Lytton Rancheria speak English.

Government[edit]

The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians Tribal Office is located on 1300 N Dutton Ave # A, Santa Rosa, CA 95401. They are governed by a democratically elected tribal council, with a working constitution.[2] The tribe does not reveal its list of members, nor its constitution, so a majority of administration is unknown to the public. Their current administration is as follows:

  • Marjorie Mejia, Tribal Chairperson[2]

Casino in San Pablo[edit]

Acquisition[edit]

After the community of American Canyon rebuffed the Lyttons' attempts to turn an existing cardroom into a casino, the Lyttons set their sights on the city of San Pablo, home of the Casino San Pablo (CSP) cardroom. Cardrooms are California gambling establishments where the house has no stake in the games. Customers typically pay a fixed amount to the house per hand, regardless of whether they win or lose.

With the assistance of the city of San Pablo and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, the Lyttons lobbied local Congressman George Miller to help turn Casino San Pablo into their reservation. Under the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, only tribes who acquired land prior to 1988 would be eligible to operate casinos on their land.[4] Because the Lyttons had regained their tribal status in 1991, and so were ineligible. Miller added a provision to the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000 that took CSP into federal trust and backdated its acquisition to 1988. When President Clinton signed the bill into law, the Lyttons gained the right to turn the CSP, formerly a low-stakes cardroom, into a full-fledged casino with much more profitable gambling devices and games such as slot machines and blackjack.

Miller's backdating clause, in a section labeled 'technical corrections,' has been described as 'midnight legislation' and 'underhanded'. Professor I. Nelson Rose, a gambling law expert from Whittier College, said the bill 'bordered on illegal'. Others dispute that the language was added inappropriately; a former staffer for U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye described the process as nothing out of the ordinary, saying, 'That's the way the republic works'.[4]

Expansion plans[edit]

Pablo

In order to operate so-called Class III games, such as slot machines, Native American casinos must negotiate a compact with the state; the Lyttons have revised their casino plans several times in the hopes of procuring such a compact from California. One element of the plan has been the Lyttons' request that the state grant them a monopoly on gaming within a 35-mile (56 km) radius of CSP.

After acquiring CSP, the Lyttons announced plans to expand it from 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) into a 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m2), six- to eight-story casino, with up to 5,000 slot machines,[5] which would make it bigger than the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) expressed opposition in 2003, citing concerns that 'off-reservation gambling' would be a strain on local resources, aggravate traffic congestion and increase crime.[6] But on August 19, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced an agreement to create such a casino, an agreement that required approval by the State Legislature and the U.S. Department of the Interior.[7]

San pablo lytton casino careers

There was immediate local opposition to the agreement, including the California Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, and mayor of the neighboring city of Richmond.[8] Facing bipartisan opposition from the California State Legislature, within a week of the agreement with the governor, the Lyttons revised the proposed figure to 2,500 slots.[9]

In February 2005, San Pablo City Council voted unanimously to urge state legislators to pass the required enabling act, while in the city council in nearby Albany unanimously voted to oppose that.[10] In April 2005, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) attacked the proposed compact.[11] Tribal spokespeople countered that the casino was 'the final act in redressing the wrongs', the reparations for the government's dissolution of their tribe's legal status and reservation lands. In addition, they said the casino would create 6,600 jobs and would provide the city, county, and state governments with 25 percent of gaming revenue.[2]

In August 2005, after failing to get a compact based on the revised plan, the Lyttons added 500 'video bingo' machines to CSP.[12] As Class II machines, these did not require a state compact.[13] By mid-2006 there were over 800 new gaming devices in use.[14]

In 2007, the tribe reached an agreement with Feinstein: the tribe would no longer try to get approval to build a larger casino, or get Class III slot machines, and Feinstein would drop legislation that would have forced the tribe to go through rigorous federal and state approvals to offer even the existing Class II gaming in their casino.[15]

Operations[edit]

Annual proceeds from the casino were estimated to be more than $180 million annually as of 2014.[16] Under a 1999 Municipal Services Agreement,[17] the tribe pays the city of San Pablo 7.5 percent of revenues;[14] in 2014, that was more than $15 million,[17] a decrease from $22.6 million in 2003.[18] The amount is tied to the casino's status as a Class II facility. If it became a Class III (Las Vegas-type) facility, the annual payment amount would be much smaller.[17] The tribe pays nothing to the State of California.[14]

As of 2011, about 200 workers at the casino belonged to a union, Unite Here Local 2850. That year, their average salary was $9.50 per hour.[19] In May 2014, after years of dispute, the union and the tribe reached an agreement that provided for wage increases and minimized the increase in health care costs to be paid by employees.[18]

Charity[edit]

The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians supports many charities. Their current sponsorship as follows:

  • Schulz Celebrity Golf Classic[20]
  • Luther Burbank Center for the Arts [21]
  • Windsor Fire Protection District[22]
  • The Boys & Girls Club of Central Sonoma County[22]
  • PDI Surgery Center in Windsor[22]

Sonoma County lands[edit]

In 2002, an investor group that had collaborated with the tribe on the San Pablo casino project purchased 50 acres of land west of Windsor, California, a town just to the south of Healdsburg.[23] The tribe, which expected to acquire that land from the investor group, said it wanted to build homes, a community center and a ceremonial roundhouse on the land.[24] The Windsor town council responded by going on record as opposing the tribe's plans to develop the land beyond the one home per five acres allowed by the county's general plan.[25]

In April 2009, the tribe applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to have 100 acres of land - it had purchased more land to the west of Windsor - taken into federal trust. The tribe said it wanted to build 145 homes and a community center for tribal members on the site. In May, the Windsor town council voted 4-1 to oppose the tribe's plans. Tribal representatives said if they could not get Windsor to extend utility service to the land, they would use well water and build their own sewer plant.[25]

In 2012 and 2013, the tribe purchased more than a dozen properties in Sonoma County, paying more than $47 million. About 2,000 acres were owned by the end of 2013, including more than $22 million of vineyards and pasture in the Alexander and Russian River Valleys, 650 acres near the Sonoma Coast, and about 400 acres in the Windsor area.[26]

In March 2015, the Sonoma County supervisors approved an agreement with the tribe that prohibits the tribe from developing a casino, but allows development of a 200,000-case winery and a 200-room resort. Under the 22-year agreement, the tribe would pay the county $6.1 million for one-time impacts, and would pay the same property taxes and hotel-bed taxes that would be required if the lands were not in federal trust. A representative for the tribe said that future plans could also involve building 214 houses in addition to the approximately 150 it had proposed in its application to BIA.[27]

In May 2015, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) introduced a bill to take land near Windsor, owned by the tribe, into federal trust for housing and other non-gaming purposes as part of a new Lytton Rancheria reservation for the tribe.[28][29] Huffman said he proposed to create the Indian lands through an act of Congress instead of through the BIA process because a Congressional act could completely prevent a casino, and could bring more certainty over what could be built and how the impacts would be offset.[30] In July, opponents packed a Windsor town council meeting to request that the council oppose Huffman's bill.[31]

The tribe, which has given millions of dollars to the Windsor school and fire districts to offset the impacts from its planned housing project, is negotiating with the town of Windsor to get water and sewer service. Such an agreement would have to be approved by Windsor voters because the tribal housing project is outside the town’s urban growth boundary.[32] In exchange, the tribe would build a 30-meter-long pool, which could be used by the Windsor High School swim team, a second pool for recreational use, restrooms, a changing facility, a community building, and parking, near the High School and the town center.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^Artichoke Joe's California et al. v. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, Memorandum of Order and Opinion, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
  2. ^ abcd'LYTTON RANCHERIA OF CALIFORNIA'(PDF). U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. pp. 17–19. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  3. ^Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh
  4. ^ abBernice Yeung (June 6, 2001) 'Gambling Their Future'. San Francisco Weekly
  5. ^Robinson, Bruce. 'How Many Indian Casinos Are Too Many?' Gambling Magazine. July 24, 2005
  6. ^Josh Richman (September 27, 2003) 'Dianne Feinstein bill would delay Indian casinoArchived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.' Oakland Tribune.
  7. ^Murphy, Dean E. (August 20, 2004). 'California Deal Authorizes Huge Casino Near Oakland'. The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  8. ^John M. Hubbell, Cecilia M. Vega (August 19, 2004) 'Politicians shocked by casino deal; size of project alarms mayor, congressman'. San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ^Morain, Dan; Morin, Monte (August 23, 2004). 'Tribe Scales Back Casino Plan'. Los Angeles Times. ISSN0458-3035. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  10. ^Brenneman, Richard Berkeley Daily Planet (February 25, 2005). 'San Pablo Casino Pits City v. City, Gambler v. Gambler'. Berkeley Daily Planet. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  11. ^Zachary Coile (April 6, 2005) 'McCain blasts tribe over bill allowing San Pablo casino; Bush likely to support Feinstein proposal to derail pact with governor'. San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ^Zamora, Jim Herron (August 2, 2005). 'More distraction than attraction for video bingo; confusion reigns as casino unleashes flashy new game'. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  13. ^Janine DeFao (July 31, 2005) 'Video bingo machines are tribe's new gamble; devices no different from slots, say critics of East Bay casino'. San Francisco Chronicle.
  14. ^ abcSweeney, James P. (May 27, 2006). 'Casino finds a wild card in knockoff slots | T'. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Copley News Service. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  15. ^Coile, Zachary (May 10, 2007). 'Indians, Feinstein strike deal that keeps casino from growing'. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  16. ^ abMason, Clark (November 3, 2014). 'Windsor may trade water service to tribe in exchange for swimming pool'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  17. ^ abcLochner, Tom (July 24, 2015). 'District to discuss possible sale of Doctors Medical Center campus'. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  18. ^ abRogers, Robert (May 2, 2014). 'San Pablo casino, workers reach labor agreement after years of strife'. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  19. ^Jones, Carolyn (July 12, 2011). 'San Pablo Casino workers irked over no raises'. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  20. ^'Schulz Celebrity Golf Classic'. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  21. ^Swanson, Charlie. [Luther Burbank Center for the Arts 'Naming Rights'] Check |url= value (help). http://www.bohemian.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.External link in |website= (help)
  22. ^ abcBWW News Desk. 'Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Returns to Historic Name'. http://www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.External link in |website= (help)
  23. ^Gorenstein, Nathan (July 3, 2003). 'Katz reveals partners in casino plan'. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  24. ^Willams, Bert (April 7, 2004). 'Lytton Pomos, Windsor neighbors find communication difficult'. Sonoma West Publishers. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  25. ^ abMason, Clark (May 8, 2009). 'Windsor opposes tribal development'. Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
  26. ^Mason, Clark (December 1, 2013). 'Lytton Pomo tribe on buying spree in Sonoma County'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  27. ^Hart, Angela (March 10, 2015). 'Sonoma County approves sweeping agreement with Windsor-based Lytton Pomo tribe'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  28. ^Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 2015, H.R. 2538, May 22, 2015
  29. ^'Rep. Huffman Introduces Bill to allow Lytton Rancheria to take tribal land into trust for housing and other non-gaming purposes'. Press Release, Representative Huffman's office. May 22, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  30. ^Mason, Clark (May 22, 2015). 'Rep. Jared Huffman introduces bill to take land into trust for Lytton Rancheria'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  31. ^Mason, Clark (July 15, 2015). 'Opponents of Lytton tribe's plans swarm Windsor meeting'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  32. ^Mason, Clark (March 9, 2015). 'Sonoma County, Lytton tribe set to reach development deal'. Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 17, 2015.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lytton_Band_of_Pomo_Indians&oldid=905306638'
(Redirected from Casino San Pablo)
Front entrance to the San Pablo Lytton Casino in San Pablo, California

Casino San Pablo is a Native American reservation with a gambling hall located in San Pablo, California.[1] It is operated by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. It is adjacent to the site of the now demolished Doctors Medical Center. The former medical center was sold to the tribe in 2017.[2] According to the general manager of the casino 'You can come to San Pablo Lytton Casino any day and leave a millionaire'[3]

History[edit]

The site, formerly a trailer park and supermarket, was converted into parking and a card club in 1994. Later in 2002, restricted gambling was permitted. The casino shares its revenues with the city of San Pablo (7%) where it forms the city's economic backbone.[1]

In 2005 the casino was expanded into a 'full-fledged' casino with slot machines and video bingo.[4] However by 2016 the workers whom were making an average of US$12 an hour were complaining that it was too low with the salaries at nearby Oaks Card Club being 14 and Graton Casino being also hovering around 14 and asking for a 12% wage hike. In 2014 the casino was calculated at making 277 million dollars annually.[5] Nevertheless the tribe of 350 people was reported to be paying its unionized employees 9.50 an hour on average just 5 years earlier.[6]

Loni Hancock opposed adding the video bingo machines because she said that they look and feel like real slot machines and that technology has brought in a loophole and it would bring more traffic and crime to the area.[7]

In 2018 a man that had arranged for a sexual encounter at the casino was attacked and had his car stolen by a man and woman in the parking lot of the gaming hall.[8] Furthermore in 2018 the tribe donated $US 1 million to a fund to support the victims of the Camp Fire.[9][10]

In 2019 patrons of the casino were followed home and robbed at gunpoint across the bay in South San Francisco.[11][12][13] Also in 2019 the casino bought the former hospital site for 13.5 million dollars and razed it to expand parking by 1,000 spaces, it was believed this would alleviate parking in the surrounding neighborhoods and be of economic benefit to the city of San Pablo whom receives over 50% of its funding from casino revenues.[14]

In 2019 with the help of congressman Jared Huffman the tribe was seeking to establish a non-gambling homeland adjacent to Windsor in Sonoma County. The plans are to build housing, a resort hotel, and a winery on a 500 acre site.[15] It is known as the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act.[16]

Casino officials have also given 500,000 dollars for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting, and 1 million for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.[17]

Also in 2019 a Daly City woman won nearly 781,000 US$ in a jackpot from a slot machine here.[18]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ abRichmond rejects tribe's plans for casino resort. Carolyn Jones. San Francisco Chronicle. 07-04-2011. Retrieved 07-04-2011.
  2. ^Sales of bankrupt hospital to owner of San Pablo Casino pending, East Bay Times
  3. ^Bay Area Resident Wins $923,165 Jackpot at San Pablo Lytton Casino, PRNewsiwre.com
  4. ^Health of economy, residents on rise in San Pablo, San Francisco Chronicle
  5. ^Workers at San Pablo Lytton Casino push for higher pay, better job protections, San Jose Mercury News
  6. ^San Pablo Casino workers irked over no raises, San Francisco Chronicle
  7. ^Video bingo machines are tribe's new gamble / Devices no different from slots, say critics of East Bay casino, San Francisco Chronicle
  8. ^Man Seeking Sex Carjacked; Vehicle Found At San Pablo Casino, Patch
  9. ^Lytton Rancheria to donate $1 million for victims of California wildfires, ABC10
  10. ^'Devastated' Lytton Tribe donates $1 million to victims of deadly CA wildfire, Indian Country Today
  11. ^Gunmen Rob Couple After San Pablo Casino Outing, Patch
  12. ^3 charged with robbing San Pablo casino winners, The Richmond Standard
  13. ^Three Vallejo men face prison for alleged South San Francisco robbery at gunpoint, The Daily Journal
  14. ^Doctors Medical Center is gone — what’s next for the site?, The Richmond Standard
  15. ^Huffman bill grants 500 acres of tribal lands to Lytton Rancheria, Petaluma Argus Courier
  16. ^Legislation creating Lytton tribal homeland near Windsor clears big hurdle, The Press Democrat
  17. ^HAVE YOU HEARD OF SAN PABLO LYTTON CASINO?
  18. ^Daly City woman hits $780,892 jackpot at San Pablo Lytton Casino, Richmond Standard

External links[edit]

  • Official website

Coordinates: 37°57′9″N122°20′3″W / 37.95250°N 122.33417°W

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Pablo_Lytton_Casino&oldid=933471046'

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