The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake expect to have a casino open by January now that they have a new gaming compact with Governor Jerry Brown.
“We're overwhelmingly ecstatic,” said tribal Chairwoman Sherry Treppa, a former account manager who lives in Napa. Between 30 percent and 40 percent of the tribe's 216 members live in Lake County, she said.

The governor and the tribe signed the gaming compact on Wednesday for the casino, to be located just east of downtown Upper Lake along Highway 20. The tribe still needs approvals from the state Legislature and Department of Interior, which usually are routine. But not always.

The Department of Interior rejected the tribe's 2009 compact with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying it was unfair to the tribe and that it violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by funneling revenue to the state General Fund.
“They believe it's in bad faith,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a spokeswoman for the governor.

The money the state gets from tribes is supposed to go into a special distribution fund aimed at offsetting gambling impacts on the community and its infrastructure. It's unclear whether other gaming compacts drawn up by the former governor also will require modification, she said.

Under its first compact, the Upper Lake tribe would have begun paying the state 15 percent of its net revenue on gaming machines beginning with the first slot machine. Under the new compact, it doesn't begin paying until it has 350 machines