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Indian gaming pioneer, John Philip Nichols, dies
at 76
By Benjamin Spillman
The Desert Sun
March 20th, 2001
John Philip Nichols, the man credited with bringing
prosperity and infamy to the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, died Saturday at
John F. Kennedy Hospital in Indio.
The cause of death was unavailable, but members of Nichols’ family have said
he has been ill for years.
Services will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Solitude Church in Palm
Springs.
Nichols, 76, was known to some as an Indian gaming pioneer and to others as the
mastermind of a murder-for-hire plot foiled by police in 1985.
Between his arrival on the Cabazon Reservation as a financial savior in 1978 and
his departure to prison seven years later, Nichols laid the groundwork for a
business enterprise that reaps tens of millions of dollars annually.
He was convicted in 1985 after pleading no contest to two counts of murder
solicitation and served 18 months in prison.
Nichols’ son, Mark Nichols, is now chief executive officer for the Cabazon
Band.
A rйsumй of Nichols described him as “an economist, international
social worker and resource developer.”
Born in Racine, Wis., in 1924, Nichols traveled the globe from South America to
Saudi Arabia working as a consultant for private companies, nonprofit
organizations and governments.
In his later years, Nichols researched environmentally friendly waste-to-energy
methods and developed affordable, highly durable concrete and adobe manufactured
housing, according to obituary information provided to The Desert Sun.
Family members were unavailable Monday evening, and a Cabazon employee said the
tribe has not released a statement.
Pioneer: Nichols guided the tribe as it made history by opening one of
the country’s first American Indian casinos in 1980.
Police raided the Desert Oasis Casino poker parlor just days after it opened,
but the concept survived.
In 1987, two years after Nichols was jailed, the United States Supreme Court
solidified the legality of Indian casinos when it ruled on California v. Cabazon
Band of Mission Indians.
The decision and resulting legislation still govern Indian gaming today.
“He was one of the pioneers of Indian gaming,” said Michael Lombardi, a
former casino manager and consultant to a number of California tribes. “He was
a tremendous character.”
But Nichols also served the tribe during its darkest days.
Tough times: In July 1981, former tribal official Fred Alvarez and two
friends were shot in the head and killed in Rancho Mirage the day Alvarez was to
meet with an attorney supposedly to reveal “ ‘mismanagement of Cabazon
monies’ by the tribe’s non-Indian administrators,” according to newspaper
accounts.
Police never linked anyone associated with the Cabazon Band to the killings. The
murders remain unsolved.
Former tribal chairman Arthur Welmas, whose term coincided with Nichols’
arrival, supported Nichols through good and bad times.
“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Welmas told
The Desert Sun shortly after Nichols’ conviction on the murder solicitation
charges that were unrelated to the Alvarez case. “He was caught in a sting
operation. That’s the way I see it.”
The tribe’s saga was reported on frequently from the early 1980s through the
mid-1990s in the media including reports by The Desert Sun, Los Angeles Times,
Spy Magazine, and San Francisco Chronicle, among others.
Lombardi said despite its pioneering role in Indian gaming, the notoriety of
tribal officials damaged the Cabazon legacy.
“His conviction ... made him a marked man,” Lombardi said of Nichols. “He
just had a propensity of getting himself into trouble.”
More stories about Indian tribes
Inland Empire Online March 21, 2001 Wednesday.
http://www.inlandempireonline.com/news/stories/032101/family21.shtml
Cabazon casino founder,
76, dies
"He changed a lot of
people's lives and he lived a lot of people's fantasies," his son said.
By Mark Henry and Mike
Kataoka
The Press-Enterprise
INDIO
John Philip
Nichols, patriarch of a family that brought the Cabazon Indians into the
gambling era, has died after years of poor health.
The 76-year-old La Quinta resident suffered a heart attack at home Saturday
and was pronounced dead at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio.
Mr. Nichols remained an enigmatic figure, his life scrutinized by law
enforcement, writers and conspiracy theorists.
"No matter what anybody says about my dad, one thing he had that a lot
of people don't have is courage," said his son, Mark Nichols, CEO of the
tribe, which operates a casino and other ventures near Indio.
"He changed a lot of people's lives and he lived a lot of people's
fantasies."
Supporters had credited Mr. Nichols, a non-Indian, with bringing economic
growth to the Cabazon Indian Reservation near Indio.
After Mr. Nichols became its financial adviser in 1978, the tribe launched
business ventures including the sale of tax-free cigarettes, discount liquor
and a poker club and bingo hall. Under Mr. Nichols, the Cabazons established
health-insurance plans and opportunities in education and employment.
And in 1987, the tribe joined the Morongo Indians near Banning in a legal
fight resulting in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that supported rights
to conduct gaming operations.
Born in 1924, Mr. Nichols was active at an early age as a student and labor
organizer in Wisconsin. He went to South America in 1959 and for the next
decade helped Indians in Bolivia and Peru become self-sufficient.
Mr. Nichols' involvement with the Cabazons drew much attention outside the
reservation.
In 1981, the tribe entered a joint venture with a company to explore the
manufacture of armaments on Cabazon land. The venture courted potential
clients for right-wing forces, including Nicaraguan Contra rebels. A Cabazon
official involved in the venture later accused Mr. Nichols of being involved
in covert military operations. The venture ended two years later.
In 1985, Mr. Nichols pleaded no contest to two felony counts of soliciting
the murder of two people he believed were dealing drugs. The killings were
never carried out. He spent almost two years in prison.
Also that year, state law-enforcement authorities confirmed he was a
suspect in the killing of Cabazon member Fred Alvarez. He and two friends were
found shot to death outside a Rancho Mirage home in 1981. Alvarez reportedly
had evidence that funds were being mismanaged at the tribal poker club and
planned to reveal the information.
The tribe denied any involvement and termed any connection between the
tribe and business ventures "ridiculous and malicious." The triple
killings remain unsolved 20 years later.
Mr. Nichols' involvement with the tribe has been the subject of books,
articles and television programs. They have speculated that Mr. Nichols had
connections with high government officials, including the Reagan
administration and the CIA.
Mark Nichols said now is not the time to comment on every inquiry and probe
into his father's life.
While Mr. Nichols was in prison, his son John Paul Nichols, now of New York
City, took over as principal business adviser. Mark Nichols later became CEO.
Mr. Nichols also is survived by a third son, Robert of Yucca Valley. A
funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Solitude
Catholic Church in Palm Springs. Burial will follow at Desert Memorial Park in
Cathedral City.