One of the last actions of the U.S. Supreme Court in this current term was to rule in favor of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in its longstanding dispute with its former partner, Sharp Image Gaming: Sharp Image Gaming, Inc. v. Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
It rejected a petition from Sharp, appealing the reversal of a $30 million judgment against the tribe. Last September the California Court of Appeal for the Third District reversed that judgment, money that Sharp claimed the tribe owed it from opening the casino. It loaned the tribe money and helped finance the casino, which opened in 1996 and closed about a week later.
Later the tribe partnered with someone else and opened the Red Hawk Casino in 2008.
The problem from Sharp’s standpoint was that the management agreement between Sharp and the tribe was never approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission because it was never submitted to the NIGC. Which voided it according to the appeals court.
Sharp suffered a series of reversals as it pursued the case against the tribe. In 2016 the California Gambling Control Commission ruled that Sharp had provided “untrue, inconsistent and/or misleading information” about its dealings with the tribe, demonstration a “lack of good character, honesty, and integrity,” and withdrew its ability to operate in California.
The tribe, on the other hand, prospered, and was able to buy out its new partner.
