Monday August 1, the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians will roll out their new bingo machines at Casino San Pablo. Doug Elmets, a spokesperson for the tribe said that the opening will be quiet, and that they will initially be rolling out 500 machines. There is some speculation that the Lytton Band is trying to get the new games out on the floor before Senate Bill 113 is passed. The bill, written by Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California democrat, would require a year-long federal process for the tribe to install any new machine.

Last summer, the Lytton Band had written a compact with California which would have given the tribe the right to install 2500 Vegas-style slot machines, with 25% of profits going to the local governments at city, county, and state level. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the compact, but the legislature did not ratify it, saying that they would not allow a casino of that size in an urban area.

Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, a Democrat from Berkeley said that she hoped that Feinstein’s bill would pass, because currently, the bingo machines are a significant problem. Many argue that while the machines are officially classified as similar to bingo, they are actually just as problematic as regular slot machines, being equally addictive. The Lytton Band has said that they plan to release another 500 bingo machines or possibly more, depending on customer demand.