The Shoshone-Bannock Tribe recently held two open houses in Mountain Home in Elmore County, Idaho, to update area residents on the tribe’s proposed casino there.
Tribal officials answered questions and also collected signatures for petitions to be sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The project also would require approval from Governor Brad Little and the city of Mountain Home.
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe Planning Director Alonzo Coby said the tribe has already completed the necessary feasibility study, business plan and economic impact study for the casino. It still must complete environmental studies required by the federal government. Coby said the federal land-trust process would take about a year, followed by approval from Little.
He noted, “Elmore County residents are excited about the planning process we’re going through with getting community input. We don’t want to invest $300 to $400 million for a project if we’re not wanted here. We want to make sure the community buys in.”
Coby told attendees the casino would provide more than 1,000 jobs and generate millions of dollars in economic impact.
Elmore County Sheriff Mike Hollinshead said deciding if a casino should come to Mountain Home is “above my pay grade.” He said if a casino comes to Mountain Home, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office will be ready. “If it goes forward, I’ll be in the loop from the very beginning so I can start planning. So if it does go through I’m not starting at the beginning,” he said.
At the open houses, Shoshone-Bannock Tribe Executive Director Elese Teton presented a timeline of the tribe’s efforts to develop a casino. Teton said the tribe commissioned a report to identify land to purchase in Mountain Home in 2015, and a task force began work on the issue in 2017.
Tribal leaders met several times with Elmore County and Mountain Home officials and presented the project to then-Lieutenant Governor Brad Little in early 2018. The tribe purchased the 157-acre parcel for the proposed casino in January 2020.
The Shoshone-Bannock casino task force met a second time with Little, who indicated he “still preferred the inclusion of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe in a joint venture.”
Shoshone-Bannock officials said they did meet with Shoshone-Paiute leaders to discuss a joint venture in fall 2018, March of 2019 and February 2020. But both tribes ended up working on their own casino projects. Observers said Little’s stance could affect his approval of the Shoshone-Bannock casino; he has not expressed an opinion on the issue lately.
