Perhaps it is revisionist history, but according to Robert Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the only reason his tribe tried so hard to get involved in online casinos was to protect the ability of tribes to enter the market in the future.  The rest of the tribes, especially those in California saw the actions of the Morongo Band as a greedy move that could have destroyed the California gambling market for tribal casinos.

It will certainly be difficult for Martin to pass of the political maneuvers of his tribe as completely altruistic.  From the looks of it the deal would not have benefited any one but the Morongo Band and four card room operators in California.  They were pushing for deal that would have given them exclusivity protection over online poker. 

Whether he intended to or not Martin can take credit for the current actions being taken by the California tribes.  The bid of his tribe to control online poker in California did derail a bill being proposed by lawmakers that would have pushed tribal casinos out of the online poker market.  The Morongo Band did decide to postpone their own initiative, according to Martin it gives the tribes a chance to “step back to get better acquainted with the issues.  

It might not be exactly what he planned, but thanks to Martin and the Morongo Band, California’s tribal casino operators are taking a long overdue look at their future as it relates to online casinos and online gambling.