A “yes” vote on Proposition 48 will approve a 2,000-slot machine casino in Madera County.

If approved, the Wiyot Tribe will build the first 2,000-slot machine casino in California. This would increase the volume of gambling possible in a given casino in the state because casinos in California are currently limited to 350 slot machines.

The larger types of casinos with thousands of slot machines are usually seen in gambling towns like Las Vegas and Reno.

“If we vote for (Prop 48) what would be the effect? Employment can go up over there, but crime can also go up, too,” health and human services major Denise Mills said.

The casino will create over 4,000 jobs in California, and all the other shops that are built around the casino will create revenue for the tribe and county.

“It’s on Indian ground, so I don’t really see a problem with it, as long as it not by a school,” mechanical engineering major Brad Knight said. “The space is theirs, and the way the Indians were treated (historically), they deserve all of that money they generate from other shops.”

Many who opposed this proposition see this as an opportunity for more Vegas-style casinos to come to California.

Executive director of Stand Up for California Cheryl Schmit said Proposition 48 would open doors for casinos to build in areas off of Indian reservations in California.

“Years ago, California tribes asked voters to approve limited casino gaming on Indian reservation land. They promised casinos would be located only on reservation land,” Schmit said. “Proposition 48 would approve a controversial tribal gaming compact that would allow the North Fork Tribe to build an off-reservation, Vegas-style casino more than an hour’s drive from the tribe’s established reservation — closer to Central Valley communities.”

Some students at Contra Costa College think that there should not be another casino built in California because all it does is create more problems.

Health and human services major Anna Bradford said she dislikes anything that has to do with gambling.
“Casinos destroy families. People lose their jobs because they become addicted to hitting the jackpot on the slot machines,” Bradford said. ”The same problem can go into effect with the Indian tribes.”