California's Indian gaming tribes are entitled to operate 10,549 more slot machines thanks to a federal court order involving the owners of Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino.

Yesterday's court judgment caps a case brought by the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians in Colusa County against the California Gambling Control Commission. The suit, which the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians joined, alleged the state miscalculated formulas used to allot licenses for gaming devices to tribes.

The decision orders the state to undertake a drawing within 45 days to divvy the new slot machines among California tribes. About 56 tribes currently hold gaming compacts with the state.

In a statement, Morris Reid, tribal chair of the Picayune Rancheria based in Coarsegold, said the state lost upwards of $30 million in potential tax revenue from the slot machines denied to the tribes.

"The state and tribes lost millions of dollars the past decade that they can never get back due to the state's miscalculation of the number of gaming machines available under the compacts, but the federal court's decision wisely corrects this going forward," Reid said. "This is a great win for all of Indian Country."