Caliente’s history has come alive again for the 21st century with the grand reopening of the new Caliente casino. A USD 26 million renovation project has truly transformed Caliente into a world-class operation. Long before there was a Las Vegas, there was Tijuana and the Agua Caliente Casino and Resort. From the moment the casino opened in 1928, wealthy sophisticates and Hollywood stars flocked south of the border...

Mazatlán Mayor, Jorge Abel López Sánchez, announced the possibility to authorize new casinos in its jurisdiction only if they do not sell alcoholic drinks inside the venues. According to the mayor, such measure would allow casinos to operate in a healthier environment. In an interview, López Sánchez said that new casinos in the city will allow competence and avoid monopolies.

Tijuana – Construction workers are still removing debris and gardeners are tending to recently planted lawns, but a new kind of betting has begun at the iconic Caliente casino. The historic building has a new facade with a Las Vegas-style entryway. Within, there's the greyhound track, remodeled halls for traditional bingo games, sports betting, an international-cuisine restaurant and a piano bar. Also inside are 1,333 new electronic gambling machines, which turned Caliente into the largest casino in Mexico when it opened last month.

The soothing commercials for Proposition 94-97 suggest their passage would offer a pain-free, USD 9 billion elixir for California's budget woes. These measures are neither pain-free nor an elixir. Passage of these propositions would allow four of the state's wealthiest tribes - Agua Caliente, Morongo, Pechanga, Sycuan - to dramatically expand their Southern California gambling operations by adding up to 17,000 Nevada-style slot machines.

The referendum battle over a major expansion of Indian casino gambling in California already resembles the stretch run of a bruising political campaign -- despite the fact nothing has even qualified for the ballot. But with signature gatherers circulating petitions for Feb. 5 referendums seeking to stop four of the Golden State's richest tribes from adding up to 17,000 new slot machines, big campaign dollars are flowing and the political vitriol is in full bloom.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians along with two other tribes reached the end of a campaign to expand their tribal casinos when the governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed bills ratifying revised gambling agreements. The four bills signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will allow the Agua Caliente and Morongo tribes alone to add up to 8,500 new slot machines.