Legislators in the American state of California are so intent on legalizing online poker that they are reportedly looking to attend an upcoming iGaming conference in order to meet with prospective operators. According to a report from online news portal Gambling911, the western state is looking towards online poker as a way to help solve its troubled economy, which has the second highest foreclosure rate in the country and near double-digit unemployment.

Lincoln, California - A Placer County tribe says the declining economy has forced it to stop construction on a hotel that was planned to complement its casino. Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Thunder Valley Casino, says the United Auburn Indian Community will likely downsize the project when it is re-evaluated in three to six months. Construction was halted with just five of the 22 stories built. The project was estimated to cost USD 1 billion.

San Bernardino, California - The proposed site of an Indian casino on the outskirts of the Colorado River town of Needles has the blessing of San Bernardino County supervisors. The location on 300 acres some four miles west of Needles near Interstate 40 was approved Tuesday by supervisors. The 1,120-member Fort Mojave Band of Indians would build roads to the 100,000-square-foot gambling hall.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has signed into law a bill permitting charities to organize and operate “remote caller bingo” and televised games linked electronically to hundreds of locations offering six-figure prizes. State Bill 1369 is the subject of severe criticism due to warnings that it will cripple localized charity fundraising and lead to online casinos by the back door.

In America, a bill passed through the California legislature allowing larger charities to offer bingo games throughout the state online will soon make its way to the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his endorsement. State Bill 1369 passed through the Senate in Sacramento late last week and has been met by a wave of protests from the California Charity Bingo Association, which is urging the Governor to veto the measure.

Shingle Springs, California (AP) - A tribal casino scheduled to open later this year in Northern California shouldn't have any problem filling its jobs. About 11,000 people applied for jobs at the Red Hawk Casino about 30 miles east of Sacramento. The casino, owned by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, has 1,700 openings. The stream of applicants comes as California's jobless rate is at its highest in 12 years.

A bill in the California legislature that would have allowed the state’s card rooms to offer online poker -and would have taxed it- won’t be considered again until next year. Poker Voters of America, which had asked for the bill to be introduced, also asked that it be shelved, because they expect the bill to be revised and reintroduced next year by new sponsors from both parties.

Hans Nansen of Carlsbad sometimes suggests to friends that they go out to a casino, but he gets an immediate objection. “We want to go out there, but 'Oh, God, the smoke,' ” he said. “I can only stand it so long.” Thirteen years after California banned smoking in most workplaces, there's one public place where people regularly light up: tribal casinos. A survey of more than 1,700 Southern California gamblers released last week by J.D. Power and Associates found that 85 percent would prefer a nonsmoking environment at their casinos.

Juneau, Alaska - Southeast Alaska's regional Native corporation is continuing to push its investment in a second California casino. That's despite growing opposition from local residents, including the town's city council. Sealaska is working with a Pomo Indian group to develop the gambling resort about 90 miles north of San Francisco.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to California’s lottery to solve the state’s budget crisis and wants to raise billions of dollars by selling bonds backed by future profits from the game. With the slump in the property market and an economy that is nearing recession, the governor revealed on Wednesday that state revenues had fallen USD 6bn, leaving California facing a projected deficit of USD 24.3bn.

Sacramento, California - A revolutionary gaming compact between the Wiyot Tribe and the State of California was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wiyot Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl A. Seidner today. The compact, which has been under negotiation for nine years, allows the Wiyot Tribe to join the ranks of many other California tribes who have elected to utilize gaming for economic development, but with an entirely new twist.

The voters of California are being asked to vote, once again, on Indian gaming. But unlike the prior two elections, the question is not whether tribes can have casinos. Rather, it is whether a few tribes may more than double their existing operations, creating some of the largest casinos in the world. The political players have also changed. California voters first approved tribal gaming at the general election on November 3, 1998.