Morongo - A Sovereign Indian Nation:

We passed Morongo hotel and casino on our way into Palm Springs. Deering had never been gambling before so I agreed to go with him to check it out. I was planning on winning ten g’s. Morongo is a sovereign Indian nation so we were playing by their rules, on their turf.

I took the photo of the slot machines in the Morongo Travel Center and was told to put my camera away by multiple staff members. Deering said that because it was a sovereign nation Morongo handled the law enforcement on their own. The Cabazon police had no jurisdiction where we were. I started to have daymares of snapping another photo and ending up in the back of a truck somewhere deep in the desert.

We lost all the money we showed up with in two hands of blackjack.  It was wild to see all the excitement and anticipation drain out of Deering’s face as they took our cards away. Hitting the slot machines with a dollar we managed to retain some of our dignity. It’s not to say we will never step foot in a casino again but it will be a very long time before we go back.