Fresh opposition has emerged towards a tribal gaming project in California, US.
The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has asked the US Department of the Interior (DOI) not to move forward with the Shiloh Resort and Casino Project from the Koi Nation of Northern California in Sonoma County.
The letter from the governor also calls on the DOI to halt any further plans for the Scotts Valley Casino and Tribal Housing Project from the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians in Solano County.
The Koi Nation project, worth US$600m, is slated to be situated on 68 acres of land the tribe purchased in Sonoma County in 2021. The idea, as reported by PlayCA, is for the third Las Vegas-style casino and resort in the county to feature 2,500 slot and gaming machines as well as hotel, restaurant and food amenities.
The plan has been met with opposition chiefly from the Lytton Rancheria of California, but the California governor Newsom has now written a letter detailing the potential environmental concerns the project raises.
In the letter, Newsom says he is “concerned that these specific projects are proceeding in a manner that would sidestep the state, ignore the concerns of tribal governments and other local communities and stretch the ‘restored lands’ exception beyond its legal limits – while failing to adequately consider whether there might be a better way.”
Lytton Rancheria tribal chairperson, Andy Mejia, thanked Newsom for the letter, adding that the projects are being “recklessly advanced in an unprecedented way without important safeguards – which could have disastrous consequences for the local environment and surrounding communities.”
