I honestly thought it was an anti-casino TV commercial.
It starts out with a couple hiking through the forest, enjoying the scenic vistas of Yosemite. Slowly, the peaceful sounds of nature, birds chirping, leaves rustling, are overtaken by snippets of electronic noise.
Suddenly, it seems to take a menacing turn. The scene around the couple spins, and jangling slot machines push up through the pine needles covering the ground, finally obliterating the forest. This is the point where, I swear, I thought casino opponents would say that Indian gaming is ruining our nature retreats.
But all is well in the end -- the couple's garb changes from hiking to evening attire, as they find themselves smack in the middle of the casino at Chukchansi Gold. They walk up to one of the slot machines and the woman pushes away the last remnant of the forest, a pine branch.
I'm not anti-casino, or even anti-gambling, but this seemed an odd way to make either seem appealing. I preferred the casino ad where Mr. Big Spender swaggers through the casino, or where the lobster dinner comes out of the slot machine.
Indian casinos are answering the fascinating clash between pro- and anti-gambling forces. They let everyone have their own way. However, their growth makes a mockery of the anit-gambling segment of our society, and we will soon have to acknowledge that we are indeed allowing gambling, and then decide, maybe too late, if that is what we want.