Raids, hostile words and lawsuits ended in a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing gambling on Indian reservations.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians near Banning was part of that fight with the state that changed California's political and gambling landscape and the lives of tribal people forever.

Now, the state and the Morongo band are at it again. This time it's over video lottery terminals

The tribe has installed the terminals, slot-machine look-alikes, that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says violate the tribe's gambling agreement with the state.

The combatants in the new fight are the same but everything else has changed.

Just look at the Morongos' new white obelisk of a hotel casino. It's 27 stories standing alone in the middle of the desert seem to boast that the tribe is richer, more politically influential and more important to the local economy.

"Obviously, they have resources and pretty good attorneys," said Bill Eadington, a gambling expert at the University of Nevada.

The new playing field was created by a valuable supply of gamblers in Southern California, many of whom flock to Casino Morongo.

"People like the fact that they can come to an Indian reservation and gamble," said Bill Davis, general manager of Casino Morongo. "People like to gamble."

That truism must not be lost on the governor. He has expressed his willingness to sit down and negotiate the hot topic of video lottery terminals with the tribe. The governor's office and the tribe are planning to meet on Tuesday, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger said.

The Morongo band is not alone in its new comfort zone.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs and the Pechanga Band of Luiseþo Mission Indians near Temecula have already built new hotel casinos. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians near San Bernardino, closest to the heart of Los Angeles and its hordes of gamblers, is almost done with its new casino, though it won't have a hotel.

The Cabazon Band of Mission Indians near Indio is going to open a hotel with its casino next month.

Several tribes in San Diego County already have full-fledged resorts.

All of these tribes employ thousands of people and contribute lots of cash for political influence.

The Morongos donated almost $9‚million to campaigns in California this year, according to the California Secretary of State's office.

Many of these wealthy tribes have been at odds with Schwarzenegger over the past year, and exceeding the 2,000 slot-machine limit is a major talking point. The Pechangas and Morongos are working around Schwarzenegger's demand for taxes and greater state oversight by using the video lottery terminals, which they argue don't fall under the rule on slot machines. They liken it to a lottery.

On the outside, the terminals look like slots. There are no reels, but a computer screen can show an image of reels.

But, unlike slots, Davis said, the terminals choose winners from a large pool of numbers as in a lottery, which the tribe is allowed to have.

"The governor, I don't know what his deal is," Davis said. "He is on a power trip. We're not bad guys. We're good guys. We follow the rules."

Some believe Schwarzenegger may have a case against the video lottery terminals.

Tribes are allowed to have Class 2 gaming, bingo, electronic bingo and card games, but only 2,000 Class 3 machines, which are slots.

The video lottery terminal "clearly is not Class 2 because Class 2 is a re-creation of bingo," Eadington said. "I think the governor's office is in pretty good shape legally."

The issue could go to federal court. But shutting down the casino, a valid threat 20 years ago, doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Padlocking a casino, Eadington said, "is much more of a severe move than it was in 1983."

The Morongo casino employs 2,428 people, 862 of whom live in Banning, Beaumont and Cabazon.

"That place is bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars," said Banning City Manager Randy Anstine. "They buy a lot of their materials from not only the (San Gorgonio) Pass Area but Riverside County.

"They generate far too much money."

The tribe can attribute this more secure circumstance to the same people who gave them reasons to build their new, massive casino, the gamblers.