A proposed mega-casino in Vallejo from the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians has faced legal challenges from tribes that run rival casinos, and now the Trump administration says the casino’s approval may have been based on a “legal error.”
If you don’t live around Vallejo, you may not be aware the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians has been trying for years to build a $700 million, 160-acre casino in Vallejo, not far from the intersection of I-80 and Highway 37. The casino would also come with a 24-unit single-family home housing complex, a 45-acre biological preserve, restaurants, a cineplex, and a bowling alley. The casino would be open and operating 24/7.
But this casino has been held up by lawsuits from other tribes, challenging the Pomo peoples’ ancestral claims to that land. The tribes filing lawsuits are the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (who own the Cache Creek Casino Resort 57 miles away), the Koi Nation of Northern California (who own the Shiloh Resort & Casino 51 mies away), and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (who own the Graton Rancheria 36 miles away).
Those lawsuits are all against the US Department of Interior, not against the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo. But given the locations of those above-named casinos, you might be drawing some conclusions about why those legal challenges were filed.
Now the Vallejo Times-Herald brings up a new legal challenge, with the news that the Scotts Valley Band has already installed Class II slot machines into modular trailers that happen to be on the location’s in-progress construction site. And the Scotts Valley Band does not deny this, even though they had previously claimed those modular trailers were only there for office purposes.
Once they were busted for having the machines, the tribe claimed “the installation of Class II machines will create opportunities to hire local residents for onsite operational roles,” according to a letter from Scotts Valley Chairman Shawn Davis. “As you may be aware, Class II gaming machines are electronic bingo-style devices that may appear similar to slot machines but operate differently and are governed exclusively by federal law."
"These machines do not require a state gaming compact," the letter continued. "The number of machines will be modest, and the overall site configuration will remain unchanged. The Tribe expects only minor increases in vehicle trips along Columbus Parkway associated with staff and patrons.”
So it appears they may be able to get away with that legally. Though the tribe’s real legal trouble may be that the Trump administration’s Department of the Interior recently said that their approval of the proposed casino may have been based on a “legal error.” That legal error may or may not be rectified in the tribe’s favor, but surely other tribes mounting legal challenges have noticed.
Ultimately, whether or not Vallejo gets that Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians mega-casino depends on the Department of the Interior’s ruling, and the rulings in the three other legal challenges. And very interestingly, the City of Vallejo can just sit on the sidelines and watch all this, as their elected officials have no say in any of these outcomes.
Related: Feud Between Sonoma County Tribes Continues With Lawsuit Filed Over Proposed Casino Resort [SFist]
Image: Scotts Valley Casino
