The war party in California between the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and other tribes to legalize intrastate online poker has screeched to a halt. The Morongo tribe had proposed a plan to allow regulation of online poker in California, was first met with delays and now it doesn’t look like anything will be done until January at the earliest.

Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the tribe said: “Some concerns have been raised and we want to make sure we address those concerns so this can benefit everyone. We are going to redouble our efforts and present this in January to the (state) Legislature.”

By “benefit everyone,” Mr. Dorinsonnnn is obviously eluding to tribes like the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, the Pala Band of Mission Indians and the Pechenga Band of Mission Indians who have a large stake in the money making potential of legalized online poker. These Native American tribes have taken a hard line against the Morongos and lobbied against the proposal consistently since its inception. Pechanga Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro explains, “Tribal and state leaders clearly need more time to weigh the consequences of this proposal. There may be merit to the concept, but a lot of questions still need to be addressed,” he said.

Delays in the online poker legislation had already been expected when California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg mentioned that the proposal, which was only five pages, would not allow the California state legislature the proper time-frame to come to a decision.

Tags: Morongo Tribe, online casino, online casinos, online gambling, online poker

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