Legislator seeks state probe of casino\'s bingo machines
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, asked state Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Monday to investigate the new video bingo machines at Casino San Pablo, charging that they were nearly identical to slot machines.
Hancock, whose district includes Casino San Pablo, said the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians had taken advantage of a loophole in state law when it added 500 video bingo machines in August.
"Technology has blurred the lines between traditional slot machines and bingo," she said Monday. "These electronic bingo machines are exactly like slot machines, and therefore I'm asking the attorney general to investigate it. If we don't do something, we're totally vulnerable to casinos' taking advantage of this loophole."
Bingo and card games are legal across California, and, with state permission, Indian tribes may install slot machines on federally recognized sovereign land.
California's Legislature last year rejected the Lytton Band's plan to install 5,000 slot machines at Casino San Pablo, based on its location in an urban area.
"Bingo is supposed to be a communal game. But with these, who do you play against? I don't know, and the player doesn't know either," said Hancock aide Armando Viramontes. "The whole experience -- the spinning reels, bars and cherries, lights and sounds -- is like a slot machine. Not bingo."
The Lytton Band's spokesman, Doug Elmets, defended the bingo machines last month and said the tribe was committed to operating within current law.
"At the same time, we're offering an exciting new experience in California," Elmets said in August. Elmets could not be reached Monday.
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, asked state Attorney General Bill Lockyer on Monday to investigate the new video bingo machines at Casino San Pablo, charging that they were nearly identical to slot machines.