The popular star of the television series 'Hart to Hart' has given her unconditional support to Proposition 70 for the Indian Territories looking to boost casino numbers in California. Next week Californian voters will not only elect their president, repesentatives and senators but also approve or oppose the amplification of gaming in their state.

A Republican senator from La Quinta, Jim Battin, has declared that Stephanie Powers has given the debate objectivity. At the moment Proposition 70 is trailing Proposition 68, which would allow for card rooms and race tracks to gain 30,000 slot machines, by 10%. However, 25% of the electorate are still undecided. In Powers' unpaid 30 second spot in the 'Proposition 70 Yes' campaign advertisement she tells viewers that the proposition is fair to all Californians as it applies the standard corporate tax rate to Indian gaming. She adds that after centuries of despair some Indian tribes have been given the chance to prosper and by law would share their gaming revenues with less fortunate tribes.

Stephanie Powers, an animal rights activist, knows the area well. As a girl she visited the desert frequently and would ride across the Indian country before casinos changed the economies of the Californian tribes. Although she has no personal connection to the Agua Caliente or Morongo tribes directly affected by the propositions, she is reported to feel a strong kinship with Native Americans.

The last few weeks of the campaign seem to have been infected with racial overtones and a spokesman for the P-70 Yes campaign hopes that the advertisement has brought the gaming initiatives back to the point. Opponents have likened the impact of the inititiative, if passed, to a 'Las Vegas on steroids' with a proliferation of casinos in the desert, including the Palm Springs area and the Coachella Valley becoming one big casino. Supporters deny this, saying there is no intention of putting another casino in downtown Palm Springs.

Whichever way it goes next week, Jim Battin says the people know that Stephanie Powers 'talks from the heart' in her support for Proposition 70.

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