Toting signs that read “549 is a bad bet” and “Say no to 549,” cardroom workers at Wednesday’s rally were adament about getting their message out. But I sympathize with the argument that this is something the courts should be allowed to decide.” I’m carrying the bill, but I have no cardrooms in my district nor tribal lands, so I’m pretty neutral on this. “It simply allows the courts to take this up and offer a ruling. “The bill does not answer the question, nor does it take sides,” Newman said in an interview Wednesday. If approved, it would likely not take effect before early next year. The bill is currently before the Assembly Rules Committee. This money funds public safety, after-school programs, senior services and fire services.” “For other cities, that might be 18% to 40%, but we are a worst-case scenario. “The tax revenue we get from our cardroom represents 68% of our city’s general fund,” she said. Shavon Moore-Cage, executive assistant to the city manager of Hawaiian Gardens, said her city’s finances would take a big hit if The Gardens Casino were forced to shut down in the face of tribal lawsuits.

Opponents of SB 549 say it will force cardrooms to address frivolous and costly lawsuits from tribal casinos and could potentially result in hundreds of job losses, putting cardrooms with excessive legal costs out of business. He said SB 549 already was, in effect, rejected by voters “as it contains similar language and intent that was in last year’s Prop 26. Tribal casinos currently can’t file civil actions against rival cardrooms because they are a soveriegn nation and don’t have the legal standing to do so. SB 549 would provide standing for Indian casinos to sue cardroom operators they claim are operating “banking card games” in violation of state law and tribal gaming exclusivity. Opponents of the bill say the casinos are simply looking for a way to squash competition from cardrooms.įederally recognized tribes have the freedom to offer slot machines, lottery games and “banked” card games - like traditional blackjack, in which the casino acts as the bank handling wagers.Ĭardrooms, by contrast, can only provide “player-dealer” games, such as poker, pai gow, baccarat and Texas Hold ‘Em. Josh Newman whose Senate Bill 549 - otherwise known as the Tribal Declaratory Relief Act of 2023 - has reignited a decades-long conflict between tribal casinos and cardroom operators. The rally was held outside the office of Democratic state Sen. 6 in Fullerton to protest a bill they fear could fuel wide-ranging job and revenue losses for their industry. More than 100 LA-area cardroom employees and supporters gathered Wednesday, Dec.

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