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Schwarzenegger Names Tribal Casino Negotiator
LOS ANGELES – Calif. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger on Wednesday appointed a negotiator to hammer out
new accords with American Indian tribes operating casinos that
the governor has said could pay up to $2 billion in gambling
revenue to close the state’s budget shortfall.
Schwarzenegger appointed Daniel Kolkey, an attorney who had
negotiated with tribes for former Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican
and key Schwarzenegger ally.
Kolkey avoided setting specific financial goals and repeated
the governor’s position that California tribal casinos should
pay a "fair share" of revenue back to the state.
Indian gaming in California is estimated to bring in between
$3 billion and $6 billion per year. The higher end of that range
would make California the second largest U.S. gambling state
after Nevada.
Kolkey, a partner at San Francisco law firm Gibson, Dunn &
Crutcher, said he would start talking with tribal attorneys next
week and did not comment on the $1 billion to $2 billion target
Schwarzenegger set just before his November 2003 election.
"At this point before the negotiations begin it would not be
appropriate to draw a line in the sand," Kolkey said on a
conference call with reporters.
The California Nations Indian Gaming Association, a lobbying
group for a number of tribes, congratulated Schwarzenegger for
moving quickly to select a negotiator and said tribes were
looking forward to talks.
Read the
entire article at:
Reuters
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