The other is Proposition 27, backed by seven commercial sports companies, that would allow for statewide mobile wagering with platforms tied to tribal casinos. Proposition 26 is one of two legal sports betting initiatives on California’s November ballot. And if a judge were to rule against the card rooms in even one lawsuit, it would drastically change the way they operate and potentially put some out of business. If that happens, he said, there could be enough of them that even if the lawsuits are dismissed, he and his fellow card room owners could go bankrupt trying to defend themselves. What he’s worried about is a legal provision in the initiative that would allow private citizens to sue card rooms, a major departure from how the process now works. That’s not because he’s worried that if California’s tribes can offer sports betting or roulette or craps, those games will cut into his business.

The future of his business could be at stake, he says, if Proposition 26 passes. Ocean’s 11, one of about 70 card rooms in California, has a bar and lounge where customers can get away from the action in a quiet space.Īs owner Haig Kelegian takes all of this in, his face registers some concern.

Not all of the 50 tables are in play, and while there is a low buzz in the space, it’s nothing like the glitzy lights and sounds of a Las Vegas casino.

Baseball games play on monitors around the room. Sandwiched between a Grocery Outlet and Interstate 5 in Oceanside, California, and with a peekaboo view of the Pacific Ocean, Ocean’s 11 Casino is relatively full at lunchtime on a September Wednesday.Ī card tournament is going on in the poker room, while on the main floor, players are trying their hands at several kinds of poker, blackjack, and EZ baccarat.

Oceans eleven casino wages