The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians filed a $550 million claim against the state on Monday, saying the governor has refused to give the tribe the slot machines it says it was promised in a 1999 gambling agreement.

The tribe owns Valley View Casino near Valley Center. The casino has 1,574 Las Vegas-style slot machines, which is 426 short of the 2,000 maximum allowed under the tribe's 1999 gambling agreement, or compact.

However, there have been different interpretations on how many slot machines the 1999 gambling agreements allowed statewide. The governor has used a lower number of slot licenses to draw tribes into negotiations for more cash in exchange for more machines.

"We are just asking for what was established to be ours according to the language of the 1999 compact," San Pasqual Chairman Allen Lawson said in a written statement.

A spokeswoman for the governor said the total number of licenses available statewide is still under litigation.

Tribal leaders also said that withholding the licenses has shortchanged local governments, which get a share of revenue from slot machine license fees collected by the state.

"If the state would adhere to the plain language of the 1999 compact, it would (make) upwards of $360 million available and free up as much as $30 million per year to help relieve the impact of the eviscerated public services under Governor Schwarzenegger," Valley View Casino president Joe Navarro said in a written statement.

At issue is how many slot machines should be available to tribal casinos under the 1999 agreement. A federal judge ruled that there should be a total of 42,700 machines available, according to the tribe. But the state has limited the number to 32,151.

Camille Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor, said the judge's ruling is not final.

"Until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issues a final ruling in the statewide license pool issue and the appeals process has been exhausted, any claim filed on the basis of a disputed ruling is premature," Anderson said in a prepared statement.

The actual number of slot machines in the state's American Indian casinos is much higher, about 60,000, because some tribes have renegotiated their agreements, giving them access to more slot licenses and because some machines operating before the 1999 compact were grandfathered in.

Under the terms of the agreements, tribes pay into two separate accounts, one that helps pay for regulation and other costs and one that shares revenue with nongambling tribes or tribes with small casinos.

The Special Distribution Fund collects money that helps pay local governments near casinos for police, fire, roads and other services affected by the establishments, among other things.