Mohave Daily News: Business

BARSTOW, Calif. (AP) - Two tribes wanting Mojave Desert casinos along Interstate 15 are asking other Indians to drop opposition to the plan.

The tribes said a generous new gaming compact between the Agua Caliente Band of Cahilla Indians and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger shows the proposed Barstow casinos would have no impact on future gaming deals.

The Palm Springs-based Agua Caliente tribe announced a deal last week that allows the tribe to add 3,000 slot machines to the 2,000 it already operates in two casinos. Also, a third casino might be built.

The compact also calls for the Agua Calientes to pay up to $1.8 billion to the state over the 30-year life of the agreement.

The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians of San Diego County and the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe of Humboldt County worked out a deal with the governor last year for the Barstow casinos.

But the compact was rejected by an Assembly committee in June. Additionally, a bill in the House of Representatives that would prohibit off-reservation gaming was passed by a key committee last month.

Some off-reservation gaming would be allowed under the House bill provided there is a strong historical connection between the tribe and the land on which it would put a casino.

Big Lagoon, based 700 miles from Barstow, has no ancestral connection to Barstow. At the urging of Schwarzenegger's office, it joined with the Los Coyotes tribe for the Barstow project to preclude Big Lagoon from building a casino on its 20-acre coastal reservation.

Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon claim other big gaming tribes have opposed their project because their compact was too generous to the state and city. There were also fears profits would drop.

‘‘Agua Caliente's new compact is a clear indication that the Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon compacts have no impact on existing or future agreements. We call on our fellow California tribes to cease any opposition to the Barstow compacts and join our efforts to ensure that all tribes have an opportunity to provide for their people,'' Los Coyotes spokeswoman Catherine Siva Saubel said in a statement.