Beads, Hardship, and 24 Bucks

About 7,000 years ago, the Paleo Indians made their way from Asia through Alaska, eventually settling on the East Coast and becoming the first inhabitants of what they called Island of the Hills, or Manhattan. Some 500 years ago, Giovanni da Verrazano discovered the natural port of Manhattan and is best remembered for the bridge on which the New York Marathon begins each year. In 1635, a gentleman by the name of Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan for jewelry valued at 24 bucks, and this was the beginning of a long series of events in which Indians got the worst of it.



The Indians didn't know it at the time, but they were part of the highest-stakes poker game imaginable. As is the case in poker, you often have to invest now for a big payoff later on; what you do now might not have immediate implications. Those implications might bear fruit tomorrow, next week, or next year. For the Indians of yesteryear, the hardship and mistreatment of centuries finally bore some payback with billions of dollars in accrued interest.



Looking around this country of ours as it relates to gaming, Indians are not only involved in it, but in many cases are the leaders. Starting with the two opposite coastlines, there are Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and Pechanga Resort and Casino in California. One is the largest casino our country has to offer, and the other is trying to catch it.



Without going into a complete chronology of events, I'll highlight some of the more important ones that led the Indians to where they are today.

The rest, as they say, is history – a very different one for Indian tribes. Here are some of the recent headline news items:



• The Rincon Band of Mission Indians will debut a $168 million expansion of its casino.



• The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut has been given approval to buy a racetrack in Pennsylvania.



• Connecticut's two tribes reported $127.1 million in revenues just from slot machines in the single month of November 2004.



I remember growing up in New York and traveling to Connecticut to play poker at the new Foxwoods Casino. As massive as I thought it was then, Foxwoods now dwarfs its former self, having become the largest casino in the world. Poker has grown there, as well: The small poker room of the past has become an entire wing that now sprawls across the casino floor. There are limits for every budget, including some of the biggest cash games in the world, and a major World Poker Tour tournament occupies the banquet hall for most of November.



The reason I reference Pechanga as the West Coast wannabe is because of the similarities to the history of Foxwoods. While living in California, I've traveled to the Temecula Valley for the past seven years to visit this casino. When I first went, it was a tent, then a hotel casino, and now a state-of-the-art facility boasting a new poker room with more than 50 tables and a new tournament schedule. (California has more tribes involved in gaming than any other state, with 43 currently hosting some form of gambling.)



Beyond gaming, Las Vegas "style" is not lost on either coast. Foxwoods and Pechanga both have showrooms that rival those in Sin City, and offer magnificent Vegas-style buffets. Capitalism has flourished among the Indian tribes in spades, and with great wealth has come great political influence, as the tribes make large donations to Democratic and Republican candidates alike (a nifty $9 million during last year's recall election to three candidates in California).



There's no bluffing here, the Indians have the winning hand.

Warren welcomes questions and comments at www.PokerMD.com.