“Keep it rural,” implored Marcia Spurgeon, an anti-casino activist, real estate agent and longtime Jamul resident, during an interview at her office on Jamul’s main road. Residents of Jamul, a village about 20 miles east of San Diego, said putting a casino in their quiet community makes about as much sense as plopping a farm into the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. When the tribe signed an agreement in April with an East Coast developer, Penn National Gaming, to build and run a $360 million vintage Hollywood-themed casino, it settled on a more modest plan than before - no skyrise hotel, for one - but still grand enough to assure their economic prosperity, the tribe’s members say. The Jamul Indians are one step closer to fulfilling their rags to slot-machine riches dreams.
