Education Services Department
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Water - The Morongo Band of Mission Indians
- 12700 Pumarra Road
- Banning, CA 92220
- P: 951-849-4697
SACRAMENTO - The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians along with two other tribes this morning reached the end of a campaign to expand their tribal casinos when the governor signed bills ratifying revised gambling agreements.
The four bills signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will allow the Agua Caliente and Morongo tribes alone to add up to 8,500 new slot machines.
Together the revised agreements will allow the four tribes that also include the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to add a total of 17,000 new slot machines.
Under the old agreements, known as compacts, the Agua Caliente, Morongo and Pechanga each operate up to a total of 2,000 slot machines.
After lengthy, and sometimes intense, negotiations with the governor and the legislature, tribal leaders said they were pleased to reach the end of their bid to meet growing demand.
``Needless to say we're all pleased to be here,'' Agua Caliente chairman Richard Milanovich said. ``It is a quite an accomplishments.''
``We've secured the future for our tribe, our community and our region,'' added Pechanga chairman Mark Macarro.
But after the long effort, Milanovich concluded: ``It's almost anti-climatic.''
Schwarzenegger signed the bills in a private ceremony along with an additional measure known as a Memorandum of Agreement that the Assembly Democrats required the tribes to accept as a condition of passing the ratification measures.
The MOAs addressed issues like financial audits, workers' compensation, enforcement of child support payments, and problem gambling.
The governor didn't put out statement but his press secretary Aaron McLear said the administration is glad the compacts, which were signed last year, now have made through the Capitol.
``These are the right agreements,'' McLear said. ``We're pleased they are in place.''
The bills take effect Jan 1. The compacts and the MOA still are subject to review of the U.S. Department of Interior.
Set at the foot of the beautiful San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Mountains, the Morongo Indian Reservation spans more than 35,000 acres and overlooks the vistas of the Banning Pass. Resilient and resourceful, the Morongo tribe has had to overcome many adversities.
The Morongo Reservation was one of nine small reservations set aside by President Grant by executive order in 1865. In 1983, the path of Morongo's future changed when tribal members started a modest bingo hall. From this building evolved one of the oldest and most successful Indian gaming facilities in California. The present $250 million destination which opened in late 2004, the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, is one of the largest tribal gaming facilities in the nation.
With its diversification into non-gaming businesses, the tribe has become the largest private sector employer in the Banning-Beaumont region and is a major contributor to the Coachella Valley economy. The tribe now employs more than 3,000 people. An independent study reported that the tribe's gaming and non-gaming businesses would generate more than $2.8 billion into the regional economy by 2008. The tribe pays payroll taxes, unemployment benefits, employee benefits and provides health programs. More than two thirds of the Morongo workforce is composed of residents from the Banning Pass and desert cities.
On both community outreach and social education fronts, Morongo has taken a leadership role. The tribe gives generously on an annual basis to hundreds of local community groups. Today, the region's governments, businesses, community leaders and groups regard Morongo as a friend and partner. The Morongo tribe's progress is a case history that illustrates how combining a pro-active tribal government with sound economic development can enable tribes to turn their lives and communities around and dramatically impact the surrounding economic region.
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is actively working with government and community leaders to explore the best paths of future development and planning that will yield a better quality of life for this generation and for generations to come.