On 15 December 2002, a committee of thirty Mexican congressmen and women who had been charged with formulating, amongst other things, new casino gaming legislation in the country, ended two years of in-depth study, involving field trips to some of the world's most illustrious casino gambling centres and the drafting of a 36-page document of 101 articles, by returning the unanimous decision to ignore the issue completely. Instead, the new Federal Gaming and Lotteries legislation was handed over for future congress debate with all casino-related wording removed. For anyone outside Mexico who had been following the story up to that point, the result may not have come as a complete surprise. Successive Mexican governments have deservedly earned a name for themselves in global gaming circles, as making mucho ruido and producing pocas nueces (all talk and no action) in this area. In fact, the discussion of how best to reintroduce casino gambling into Mexico has been going on almost as long as the activity has been officially disallowed. For anyone inside Mexico, the decision to postpone the decision until some future ma?ana could almost have been predicted. With Vicente Fox's PAN party presidential election victory in 2000, the Mexican congress had to dust off and oil the gears of opposition machinery that hadn?t been used since, well, ever. Congress? new found freedom to actually govern, like a child?s much anticipated Christmas toy on the 26th, was swiftly discarded in favour of the cardboard box of dissent and party politics. Fox?s coming out publicly in favour of casinos, "especially in areas frequented by foreign tourists", may, in itself, have been enough to ensure at least two more years of "studies" by the non-PAN dominated congress. That's not the whole story, though, as any self-respecting beneficiary of Mexico?s 1911 "peoples" Revolution could attest. Since that time, the purveyance of gambling in Mexico, in all its forms, has been a family affair. That is to say, one Mexican family at a time has graciously volunteered to unburden the government and private sector of the responsibility of taking care of that segment of the entertainment and tourism industry. Usually, the family selected for the job has been sought out by the PRI party, the organization that also supplied the country?s presidents during the 71-year period prior to Fox's moving into the official presidential residence of Los Pinos. In the early days, lacking the requisite expertise in the subtle art of gaming operations, the Mexican family du jour would bring in consultants from its American counterpart. The U.S. was using a similar familial system to bring gambling (and presidents) to the masses in those days but the government there had begun to look at the cocktail service in a bad light and this was having an adverse effect on business. The first family of Mexican gaming was the Rodriguezs of Guaymas, Sonora. Abelardo L. Rodriguez distinguished himself in the aforementioned people?s liberation activities and eventually became president. Prior to that, in 1914, then Colonel Rodriguez was sent to Baja, to help governor, Esteban Cantu, defend against a possible United States invasion at Mexicali. It is possible that it was during that period that he first realized the potential gains to be made in providing casino services to U.S. citizens at the border, just as the Magonista revolutionaries had in 1911. We now fast forward through the bloody period that saw the deposition of the old families from power, the installation of the new families into power, each Mexican household (those not being connected to either the old or new families) receiving two acres and a burro and the continuance of business as usual in old Mexico. After the dust settled, was churned up a few more times and allowed to settle once more, a political strongman emerged in 1924 who would direct Mexico?s affairs for the next ten years. Plutarco Elias Calles, who, without the propitious revolution and the opportunities for rapid advancement that it would provide for some would probably have continued in his career as a primary school teacher, first helped Alvaro Obregon achieve the presidency and was, in turn, rewarded with his own four years in office. Towards the end of his appointed term, Calles invented the dedazo, or "big finger" presidential selection approach, whereby the outgoing president would directly select his successor. (There were of course democratic elections held, but why bother delving into matters of little consequence in Mexico during the 20th century.) It took a few years to iron out the idiosyncrasies of this selection method and the PNR, the forerunner to the PRI, which Calles had founded, had a hard time persuading him that he was supposed to pass on the rights to the dedazo along with the presidential sash. After leaving office, Calles continued to appoint, and work the strings of, the next three Mexican puppet presidents, the last of whom was Abelardo L. Rodriguez (1932-34). The period under Calles' direction witnessed the birth of the "golden age" of casino gaming in Mexico with the opening of the Agua Caliente Casino in Tijuana, B.C in 1928. By this time, our friend Abelardo had risen to the rank of General and, with no more battles looming on the horizon, had settled into civilian life as governor of the territory of Baja California. He had assumed this charge after ousting his old campaign buddy, Esteban Cantu, who had been governor when the famous Agua Caliente Jockey Club was inaugurated in 1916, bringing thoroughbred horseracing to Mexico?s border the year after it was banned in California. When Prohibition was enforced in the U.S. in 1920, California's elite were given another reason to make the regular cross-border pilgrimage. The Agua Caliente track thrived, producing the legendary Phar Lap and Sea Biscuit who competed for purses of up to $100,000. After pressure was brought to bear on the floating carpet joints anchored in harbours up and down the California coast, casino owners also began to seek refuge south of the border. Rodriguez was only too willing to accommodate them, first in the form of the Agua Caliente and subsequently with the opening of the Hotel Playa Ensenada in 1930. During the period between its opening on June 23, 1928 and its closure on the night of July 21, 1935, the Agua Caliente resort was dubbed, "America's Deauville" and became the preferred playground of Californias rich and famous. Many contemporary Hollywood stars either began their careers there (Tijuana's own Margarita Lola Cansino, later to be relaunched on the world as Rita Hayworth, danced with her father in Caliente's showroom), or could be regularly found gambling into the wee hours amidst the casinos plush surroundings. It is said that three American gangsters built the casino resort but President Calles, Governor Rodriguez, Errol Flynn, and other sundry stars and hoods were linked to its ownership over the years. Of the latter group, it is rumoured that Bugsy Seigal strong-armed his way to a piece of the Caliente action during its lifetime and also made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the Jockey Club in the early forties. Sadly, owing to a dearth of reliable information regarding Mr. Seigals business dealings we'll probably never know for sure. What we do know, however, is that architect Wayne McAllister, who designed the Agua Caliente resort when only 19 years old, later designed the first Las Vegas strip hotel, the El Rancho Vegas, and a number of others including the Sands, the Horseshoe, the Fremont and the Desert Inn, on the early plans of which he had collaborated with Seigal. Seigal?s own dreamboat, the Flamingo, opening five years after the western-themed El Rancho?s Caliente-style bungalows saw their first guests, brought elegance and luxury to Las Vegas. If you've ever wondered where Tommy Hulls imagination conceived the El Rancho or Bugsy got his idea for a classy carpet joint in the desert, you need look no further than Tijuana?s Agua Caliente. Witnessing the success of the Agua Caliente, Rodriguez decided that he?d like a bigger piece of the pie. On Halloween night, 1930, the Hotel Playa (& Casino) Ensenada, later known as the Hotel Riviera del Pacifico, opened in that city located 60 miles south of Tijuana. With ex-heavyweight boxing champ, Jack Dempsey installed as titular owner and main draw, Rodriguez providing government support (It was purely coincidental that, in 1929, the governor had a new paved highway built from Tijuana to Ensenada for the sole benefit of the campesino burro traffic), Al Capone reportedly financing the operation and as many stars as ever graced the Caliente adding their own sparkle to the free-flowing bubbly, the Playas casino did a roaring trade until it too was closed down under the general no-casino decree of '35. In that year, Rodriguez also said adios to his other casinos, including the Casino de la Selva in Cuernavaca, a retreat town for Mexico City residents famed for its year round spring-like climate, and the Foreign Club which had served the capital?s cosmopolitan population from a location just outside the city limits, in Mexico State. Wait a minute though, something doesn't sound right. Isn't this Mexico we're talking about? Wasn't Rodriguez the outgoing president in 1934? Wasn't the new president, Lazaro Cardenas, also handpicked by Calles and warmly applauded by Rodriguez upon his inauguration? So how come a year later the casinos are being closed and, in the case of the Agua Caliente, expropriated by the government for later use as a school? Lazaro Cardenas, father of three-time losing socialist presidential candidate, Cuauhtemoc, and grandfather of present-day Michocan state governor, Lazaro, has a long-standing reputation as being the most honest president Mexico ever had (Mexico?s answer to Abe Lincoln, Benito Juarez, excluded). Beginning adult life as a printer?s apprentice, Cardenas also made the rank of general in the years following the Revolution and gave every appearance of being a Calles man when that individual decided that he should follow Rodriguez into office and front Mexico Inc. for the first of the newly created sexenios (six-year office terms). Strongly nationalistic, Cardenas had other plans for Mexico and, indeed, his old mentor Plutarco Calles. In some of his first acts as president, Cardenas exiled the latter to San Diego for the duration of his term in office, closed the casinos, outlawed casino gambling in Mexico and nationalized the mostly American-owned railway and petroleum industries. It is said that Cardenas abhorred the apparent corruption of his predecessors and wanted to rid the nation of casino gaming, stating that casinos, "by their nature, attract corruption, organized crime and exploitation on the part of professional gamblers." Although his personal integrity could not, without much difficulty, be brought into question, Cardenas may have had other reasons for closing the casinos. For one, Baja California was still only a territory, not achieving statehood until 1952. As such it was a prime candidate for ceding from the southern republic and joining "Alta" California in the north. The threat of American hegemony was at its peak and the growing U.S. influence in and around the northwest border region had to be checked at all costs. After closing down the American-owned and American-staffed casinos, Cardenas would later embark on an ambitious project of foreign-held land expropriation. It is also probable that the casinos were providing funds for Calles? personal retirement plan and that individual would have been none too happy about turning over his golden goose to Cardenas and the Mexican government. Cardenas made it obvious that he wanted to reduce Calles? personal power and transfer that power back to the ruling party. Closing the casinos may have been one of the ways he chose to achieve that goal, as the demise of the Agua Caliente alone was estimated to cost its owners US$10 million. Cardenas, in later life, became a close friend of Fidel Castro, whiling away many of his twilight years as the guest of his fellow revolutionary in Cuba. It?s possible that Cardenas provided some of the inspiration behind Castro?s post-revolution casino policies also. The outlawing of the casinos, together with the repeal of Prohibition in the United States, brought to an end the glory days of northern Baja. The Playa Hotel closed, made a couple of unsuccessful comebacks, again with Jack Dempsey at the helm, and finally bade a warm, "Vaya con Dios" to its last guest in 1963. Recently though, it was resurrected as the Cultural and Convention Center of Ensenada and those interested may tour its grandiose salons and gardens even today. The Agua Caliente resort became a technical school that Cardenas staffed with teachers exiled after the Spanish Civil War. Alumni of the latterly constructed high school report sightings of a beautiful ghost, known as "La Faraona" (the Lady Pharaoh), wandering its once manicured grounds. Parts of McAllister's original architecture can still be viewed, although all but a few protected structures have been allowed to go to seed. The Casino de la Selva (Jungle Casino) was most recently brought back to the public eye when activists fought to save its 200 metres of painted murals, created by some of Mexico's most prestigious artists, from the wrecking ball. Apparently, the smart money is now in Costco warehouse construction. And what of the Rodriguez family? Abelardo Jr. followed in the old man?s footsteps by developing the Palmilla area, near Cabo San Lucas. Overlooking the Sea of Cortez and, at that time, only accessible by private plane or yacht, the 15 room Palmilla became a retreat for dignitaries and celebrities. It is said that Rodriguez flew many of his guests down in his own aircraft. It's not known if gambling was taking place there or not but given it?s remote location and its owner?s antecedents, there is a fair chance that the resorts wealthy marlin-fishing guests didn?t hit the hay at sundown for want of a pastime. After Rodriguez's brother died in a plane crash on the Palmilla landing strip, Abelardo hijo sold the resort. Since that time a variety of owners have made successive contributions to the infrastructure, resulting in the 115 bedroom world class resort that graces the site today. Latterly, in 1997, the Palmilla resort and golf club were purchased by the Goldman Sachs Emerging Market Fund L.P., who, in late 2002, sold 50% of their interest, and granted a management contract, to ubiquitous hotel casino operator, Kerzner International. As to their plans for the resort, well your guess is as good as mine (and probably even the same as mine), but suffice to say that accessibility has been recently improved somewhat by the addition of a new four-lane highway connecting the resort to Cabo's international airport. Abelardo Sr.'s grandchildren continue to indulge their family's penchant for dabbling in the hospitality business. They are currently squabbling with environmentalists over their plans to convert the island of San Jose (which they claim to own), situated in the Sea of Cortez, roughly halfway between La Paz and Loreto, into a tourist mecca which will include a marina, a pier for cruise ships and 11 theme parks. Although it is claimed that the project would violate a decree prohibiting any modification of the environment or activities that are detrimental to the flora and fauna of the Gulf of California Islands Area, the governor of Baja seems to be in favour of the idea. In Baja, it appears that the more they try to change things, the more they stay the same. Next issue: "There's a new family in town" Brian can be contacted at; brianhever@scarableisure.com