Pechanga and Morongo tribes oppose governments efforts to increase gaming taxes in California. This issue and the contested use of video-lottery machines, says Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro, will be key issues this year in the world of California gaming. The dispute over legality of these lottery machines has already involved the tribes in conflict with the government and will most likely go to court.
Mark Macarro claims that facts are at the site of the tribes, and what they get from the state is a lot of bluster. The tribes did not oppose efforts to get new revenues from Indian gambling, but everything must have its reasonable limit.
Mark Macarro has repeatedly appeared on television in Indian gaming advertisements and political campaigns. He is one of the few people identified all over the region. According to Ron Roberts, Temecula City Councilman, the tribes and the city councils were working closely for years and helped a lot providing funds for local roads, bridges and other construction projects.
According to Mark Macarro, Pechanga tribe will cancel or freeze its proposed family-oriented attractions projects, such as a golf course, a theater, a bowling alley, batting cages and a go-cart track, and instead will focus on adjusting to its latest expansion, which has raised the employment in the reservation to 5,100 workers, which made Pachanga tribe the second largest employer in Riverside County.