The closure of the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino by both state and federal agencies entered its second week, being enforced by Madera County, California sheriff’s deputies.
A federal judge ordered the casino closed after armed members of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians entered in an attempt to get to the gaming commission office and were confronted by other tribal members. No one was seriously injured but many casino patrons were alarmed by the fracas.
Previously the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) ordered the casino closed due to the tribe’s not filing required documents, including results of an audit.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill ordered the shutdown and then ordered a hearing to listen to arguments from both sides as well as attorneys for California Attorney General, who asked the judge to keep the casino closed on the grounds that the tribe is now in violation of its gaming compact by allowing a dangerous situation to continue.
O’Neill ordered the casino to remain closed indefinitely until the disputing sides can be brought together to work a solution out. The judge ordered the attorneys present “Take your job seriously, and get it done.”
Later the three sides agreed to court-mandated mediation. Madera County Sheriff John Anderson, whose small department has been tied down for weeks by the dispute, greeted the development optimistically. “That’s the first time I’ve heard somebody say they’ll sit down and figure it out,” he told the Associated Press. “Everybody in open court agreed to it.”
About 500 patrons were caught flatfooted by the closure, many of them unable to cash in their chips or take jackpots that they had won with them. One of the groups contending for power in the tribe promised that if customers are patient, “All commitments will be honored.”
The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, located about 40 miles from Fresno, has 1,000 employees who are now without work, with no idea when they may return. The casino is the largest employer in the area, and the tourists that it draws in helps keep other struggling businesses afloat in Madera County. The casino has been a positive economic force in the County since it opened 11 years ago. Besides creating jobs and other economic activity, the casino also frequently awards grants to community groups.
At the same time, it has no escaped the notice of the employees or Madera county residents that the members of the Chukchansi tribe are a contentious bunch.
Or as Coarsegold resident Donald Lescoulie put it: “They argue about everything forever.”
The latest confrontations can be traced back to 2012 when tribal factions erupted over the seating of a tribal board. More than a month ago one of the factions occupied the casino. The physical confrontation occurred when the other group tried to take it back. There are actually three groups competing for power in the tribe.
The leader of one of the three factions, Nancy Ayala, commented, “It’s devastating. I can’t cry enough. It’s tough to think politics had something to do with this stuff. It’s a hard burden to bear.” Her group occupied the casino hotel’s 11th floor several weeks ago. She claims they did so with the blessing of tribal gaming officials.
However, the rival tribal council led by Tex McDonald, disputes this, saying that they were let into the building by a commission that they had appointed.
Another tribal member, Harold Hammond, commented on the fighting factions, “They are not leaders, they are thugs.”
Fresno city council member Lee Brand is concerned that if the standoff continues that his city will pay the piper. He told 30 Action News, “The implications of the Chukchansi tribe and their casino operations are profound on the team itself and by extension the city of Fresno.” He pointed out that the tribe just signed a 15-year deal to pay the Fresno Grizzlies $16 million. This affects the city because the sports team rents the stadium from it. The city stands to lose that money, he said.
Fresno State Professor Kenneth Hansen, an authority on Indian gaming, blames the federal government for not stepping in soon enough. “They had multiple opportunities to step in and try and address the problems here. They just let it fester for about three years, and this is the result of that.”
The tribe loses $1 million for every day that the casino remains closed. The casino has 1,800 slots and 42 tables of games.
Some experts claim that the closure could stretch out for months, pointing to a case more than ten years ago of a tribe in Iowa whose casino was closed for years by the NIGC. The casino owned by the Meskwaki tribe was taken over by a faction that the federal government didn’t recognize as legal. The casino remained closed for seven months.
Philip Hogen, former NIGC chairman, told the Fresno Bee that the situation in California is “much more explosive than Meskwaki” because that tribe wasn’t missing two years of audits and no one’s safety was ever threatened. He doesn’t understand why the NIGC waited so long to step in.
The attorney for the McDonald group says the government should keep the casino closed until the audits are turned in.
Reggie Lewis, who is allied with Ayala, claimed last week that the audits were almost done and would be given to the NIGC soon.
The leader of the third faction, Morris Reid, says that the only way to resolve the issue is through a new election.
