Although the Elk Grove, California, city council last week reversed its decision—taken in October—that allowed the Wilton Rancheria to buy 35.9 acres for their proposed 0 million casino resort in partnership with Boyd Gaming, the tribe announced the purchase has gone through and the Bureau of Indian Affairs has put the land into trust. The tribe paid million for the land located along Highway 99.
Boyd Gaming, which operates 24 casinos nationwide, funded the purchase, which the tribe will pay back out of casino profits. There was no word about whether Boyd Gaming would manage the casino for the tribe.
For many years, the tribe was “landless,” after the California Rancheria Act of 1958 terminated 41 tribes, including the Wilton Rancheria. The 700-member tribe’s recognition wasn’t restored until 2009. Since that recognition the tribe has been looking for land in the Sacramento Valley for a casino.
As smoke from ceremonial burning sage rose from the foot of the podium Tribal Chairman Raymond “Chuckie” Hitchcock hailed the news. “After 58 years of struggle, our people finally have land,” he said, adding, “This is a great day for the community, as well as the tribe, because it marks a major step forward in bringing jobs, economic growth and community investment to Elk Grove and the region. After six decades of being landless, we now have a home.” The event was attended by about 100 people.
A casino could be built in three to five years. As envisioned by the tribe, it would include a gaming floor with 2,000 slots, 84 table games, a 12-story hotel with 302 rooms, a fitness center and spa, outdoor pool, convention center and fine dining.
The agreement the council voted to rescind—in the face of a voter initiative that had it to either rescind the vote, or leave it to the voters —is between the city and the Howard Hughes Corp., which owns the uncompleted Outlet Collection at Elk Grove mall, a property referred to locally as a “ghost mall.”
Howard Hughes insisted that development of the mall hinges on selling part of it to the tribe for the casino. The city wanted the economic activity the mall and casino would generate, so it went along with Howard Hughes. The council only reversed itself when more than 14,800 signatures to a petition landed in its collective lap. Only 8,896 valid signatures were required to place the measure on the ballot.
That petition drive was cash driven by Knighted Ventures, a gaming and entertainment company that provides dealers for card rooms that operate in Sacramento, casinos that view a casino in Elk Grove as an existential threat. It would be the first Indian casino in Sacramento County.
Leading up to the council’s vote to reverse itself last week Mayor Steve Ly noted: “I’ve also heard loud and clear the number of emails, the number of signatures that were presented before us and all of you consistently come and share your opposition to this.” But, the Elk Grove Citizen reported,he reminded listeners why the council voted the way it did originally: “But I am certainly respectful and mindful of the importance of our role in making sure that we bring jobs to the city of Elk Grove.”
Council member Stephanie Nguyen echoed that sentiment: “Any chance where we can bring thousands of jobs to Elk Grove is always a plus for our entire city,” she declared. “It provides self sufficiency; it gives people an opportunity to be able to make a living.”
Vice Mayor Steve Detrick said Knight Ventures, “should be ashamed,” and implied that those gathering signatures played fast and loose with the truth. “To me, there was a lot of intentional confusion that was made,” he said, quoted by the Elk Grove Citizen.
The tribe estimates that the casino building project would create up to 2,000 temporary construction jobs for about two years and eventually employ up to 2,000 permanent employees.
Council member Darren Suen explained that the city council’s rescinding of its action wouldn’t affect the tribe in the least and would save the city money on an election because “The record of decision as it stands today allows the land to be placed into trust despite the existence of the development agreement on the property, which remains on the property since the referendum was passed and the initial ordinance taken by the council was frozen,” he said. “So, common ground I heard tonight was repeal and save the city money, and so with that I’m all for repealing this ordinance.”
“It becomes sovereign land and the city’s authority over that no longer exists,” clarified Elk Grove Public Affairs Manager Kristyn Nelson.
So, the city’s action was moot since the Bureau of Indian Affairs had already placed the land into trust as of January 19. The city has an agreement with the tribe in which the tribe will pay more than $132 million over the next two decades for emergency services, roads and infrastructure.
Even though their opposition to the casino has been mooted, many residents of Elk Grove insist that it’s a bad spot for a casino. Caroline Soares told Fox 40: “I don’t think it’s family oriented, I think it’s a bad location, I think they can find a better location for a casino.”
Russell Thogmartin told KCRA Sacramento: “I don’t think it’s good for our community. I think they just sold the soul of Elk Grove, if you want to know the truth.”
Karen Ridgeway added, “My daughter works for a casino, and I can tell you, it creates a lot of problems. I tell you, I don’t think I want something like that—that close.”
Former Mayor Jim Cooper, who now serves in the California Assembly, disagrees. He said, “This is going to inject money into the economy, so it’s good for Elk Grove and it’s good for the south county of Sacramento.”
Another former mayor, Gary Davis, told reporters at a press conference last week, “This is an economic catalyst in breathing new life into the ghost mall that’s been dead for so many years. I think it’s a real win for the city of Elk Grove with the jobs that are going to generate from this project, economic activity. It will just fuel this whole corridor. It’s a net positive, so today is a big day.”
The Howard Hughes Corporation issued a statement: “We continue to receive positive feedback from the retail community about the proposed casino resort and are certain the forward movement will be important to our leasing efforts.”
Next step is for the tribe to conclude a state tribal gaming compact with Governor Brown and for the legislature to ratify it.
Although efforts to stop the casino appear to be stymied, Cheryl Schmit of the casino watchdog group Stand Up for California said that her group is not giving up. She told the Elk Grove Citizen, “There’s still a long way to go here. It just changes the opposition, who we have to address. The citizens of Elk Grove have not had the opportunity to weigh in on this issue, except only recently in a couple of City Council meetings.”
Howard Dickstein, an attorney familiar with tribal law says that the fee to trust action by the BIA is open to challenge because the property had been encumbered by the Howard Hughes Company’s agreement with the city.
Quoted by the Sacramento Bee, He cited a January 10 letter from the California Department of Justice to the BIA noting that “a development agreement has not been amended, and its restrictions currently encumber the property.” Dickstein noted that this encumbrance, “may affect what activities can occur on the land while it’s in trust.”
The casino’s future had been in question when the Obama administration promise to put the land into trust ran into the reality of the new Trump administration, which some suggested might reverse that decision.
The city council’s efforts to grease the skids for the casino by amending its agreement with Howard Hughes aroused such opposition that many forgot that municipalities and other local governments have next to no say in whether the federal government takes land into trust.
