Red Hawk casino owners sign pact with state

The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, owners of the new Red Hawk casino scheduled to open later this year in El Dorado County, have agreed to pay the state the largest share of slot machine winnings of any tribe in California.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday the signing of an amended compact with the tribe that runs through 2029 and allows a maximum of 5,000 slot machines at the casino.

Under terms of the compact, the tribe will share revenues with the state based on a sliding percentage of net winnings from slot machine operations, ranging from 20 to 25 percent.

Those percentages exceed any other Indian compact in the state, according to Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.

In addition, the tribe agreed to pay an annual payment of USD 4.6 million to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. Each of the 71 California tribes that have no casinos or very small casinos gets USD 1.1 million a year from the fund fed by the large casino-owning tribes.

„This compact is a good deal for the state, the local community and the tribe,“ Schwarzenegger said in a press release. „The agreement will provide significant revenues to the state, protections for both workers and patrons, and for mitigation for the off-reservation impacts of gaming.“