San Diego County’s backcountry casinos have grown with the vigor of wild mushrooms on a rain-wetted lawn. But that growth may be over.

The latest evidence is an East County American Indian band giving up its effort to expand from 2,000 to 5,000 slot machines in its casino, one of 10 in the county that generate a combined $2 billion in revenues and employ thousands.

The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation agreed to a revenue-splitting deal with the state, which was the basis for the expansion, in August 2006. Voters OK’d the deal in February. However, the new deal between the tribe and the state, as well as any sort of expansion, makes little financial sense today, tribal Chairman Daniel Tucker said.

In a Dec. 4 letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tucker described an environment where loans are hard to obtain. He said the tribe is restructuring its casino operations and trying to avoid layoffs. Operating under the new gaming compact, Tucker said, would be “financially imprudent at this time and for the foreseeable future.”

A spokesman for Tucker declined a request for an interview. Bill Eadington, a University of Nevada, Reno professor who studies the economics of the casino business, said Sycuan likely did the math and figured the new compact was not worth its while.

State’s Coffers To Suffer

For starters, the new compact called for Sycuan to send a greater share of its gaming revenue to the state: 10 percent of an estimated annual gaming revenue of $200 million, or $20 million.

In addition, the compact singles out the new machines Sycuan would add, from the 2,001st on up. It calls for sending 15 percent of net revenues from those machines to Sacramento.

The new Sycuan compact didn’t go into effect because the adult members of the tribe never ratified it.

Sycuan’s reversal of course means less income for California’s government, which is struggling to make ends meet.

Tucker’s letter noted that economic troubles have hurt the gaming industry, both nationally and locally.

“Businesses in general, including those that cater to discretionary consumer dollars, are under economic pressure these days,” said Andrew Zarnett, managing director for high yield research for Deutsche Bank Securities in New York.

“Given that raising capital has been very difficult, it would be prudent and likely that any development plan of Southern California casinos may be put on hold until the economy recovers.”