New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo is seeking, for the third time, to leverage its two casinos and other holdings into an economic expansion into gaming off the reservation, this time to Clovis, New Mexico.
The tribe seeks to obtain a state license to open a racino in Curry County. This follows an attempt in 2016 to buy the Isle of Capri riverboat casino in Lake Charles. That cost $11 million. In 2011 the tribe attempted to build a racino in Albuquerque. That project sparked intense local opposition including and the contract was awarded to another.
The pueblo, which has 8,000 members, has enjoyed considerable success from its casinos and other businesses, with profits over about $100 million over the last decade.
However tribal leaders fear “stagnant” earnings from its Route 66 Casino and Dancing Eagle Casino, both of which are near Albuquerque. More casinos have sprung up and the market may be near saturation. Tribal leaders especially fear competition from the Navajo Nation, which has discussed opening a casino near the Route 66 Casino.
However, the state is taking applications for the sixth and final casino license, this one in Curry County, whose county seat is Clovis.
The Curry County racino is in the earliest stages. Laguna Development Corp., the tribal economic arm, recently formed L&M Entertainment in partnership with the Illinois-based Miller Companies, to submit a proposal. Competing proposals are anticipated.
Skip Sayre, marketing chief for Laguna Development, told the Albuquerque Journal that the company “has established an arms-length relationship between the pueblo government and the corporation, which has an experienced team and board of directors overseeing operations.”
It’s not surprising that the tribe is seeking to expand closer to home after the difficulties it experience with its Lake Charles adventure—which included the loss of $23 million. The main problem was created by the licensing requirements of state regulators in Louisiana, and pueblo sovereignty, causing tribal leaders to balk.
As Sayre recalls, “It was an exhaustive process in preparing for licensure in Louisiana, and unfortunately we were not able to get to the finish line.” Requirements included “suitability” applications involving criminal and financial records by every member of the tribal council.
Pueblo Governor Virgil Siow compared the process to giving the state of Louisiana a veto on who could serve on the tribal council.
The tribe ended up forfeiting the $20 million deposit to the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel, Eldorado Resorts Inc.
Sayre doesn’t anticipate similar problems in the tribe’s home state. “In Louisiana two sovereign governments ultimately were not able to reach an agreement on licensing,” he said. “I don’t see that happening in New Mexico based on the structure we will be presenting.”
