According to Orange County-based North County Times, the $5 million initiative campaign is funded by competitors of the American Indian casinos, including two racetrack outfits and two other tribes, and a service workers union. Last week, Amador County voters received mailings from the Coalition to Protect California's Budget and Economy, the tribal coalition pushing to keep the gambling agreements intact. Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the campaign, said he believes voters will ultimately agree with his side that the deals are good for the state.

Thus far, the coalition has raised $15 million for the campaign, he said. The gambling agreements, or compacts, will allow the four tribes to add 17,000 slot machines to their casinos, a 30 percent increase in the number of slots currently operating statewide. According to Edward Sifuentes of the North County Times, the four tribes have said their compacts would generate more than $9 billion over the next two decades for the state. A nonpartisan analyst for the state Legislature said the tribes' estimates on how much the state is likely to get from the agreements appears to be unrealistic. Tribal casinos across the state operate 58,120 slot machines and took in $7.7 billion in revenue in 2006, according to a private, nationwide analysis of tribal gambling revenue released earlier this year. By comparison, Nevada's casinos took in revenue of $12.6 billion in 2006. Amador County tribal groups are not included in the pending gambling agreements. The North County Times contributed to this story.