California’s Redding Rancheria in Shasta County has applied for the second time to put land into trust 1.5 miles from its existing Win-River Resort and Casino for the purpose of moving the gaming operation to the much larger parcel.
The tribe would like to put 232 acres into trust so it can build a 140,000-square foot casino with retail shopping, a 250-room hotel and convention space. The existing casino sits on 2.3 acres.
That request was made in 2003 and denied in 2010 on the grounds that the tribe did not qualify. The tribe appealed the ruling, which gives the tribe another bite at the apple.
The tribe made the application shortly after a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled by 2-1 that the tribe’s earlier request might not violate Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which relates to gaming on lands acquired after 1988. It bars allowing gaming on lands acquired after 1988, but appears to offer an exception for tribes that want to relocate and would be closing an existing casino.
In the ruling the court wrote that the Bureau of Indian Affairs should review the application again and added: “Restored tribes, if allowed to operate an indefinite number of casinos on newly restored lands would of course have an advantage over established tribes but it is not clear that allowing restored tribes to move a casino to a different location would necessarily have the same effect.”
Part of applying to put land into trust is putting a statement in the Federal Register as to its purpose. The tribe’s statement says, “The new facility would replace the tribe’s existing casino and the existing casino buildings would be converted to a different use.”
The tribe achieve recognition in 1983 and opened the Win-River Resort and Casino in 1993. The BIA says that the first step on reviewing the application will be to prepare an environmental impact report on the project.
