The action by the U.S. Supreme Court to not hear an appeal from opponents of the Cowlitz Tribe’s 0 million Ilani Casino Resort means that nothing stands in the way of it opening late this month near La Center, Washington off Interstate 5, 25 miles from Portland.
The casino will have 2,500 slot machines, 80 gaming tables, 15 restaurants and retail shops.
The court’s decision means the end of the road for the battle by opponents to fight the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision to put 157 acres into trust for the tribe, and upholds the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals that left that action in place.
Although the tribe is the beneficiary of the decision, the lawsuit filed by Citizens Against Reservation Shopping was actually against the Department of the Interior, which had put the land into trust.
The tribe has said it plans to open its 360,000-square foot casino resort near the end of April. That opening is dependent on the completion of a new $35 million I-5 interchange that will expedite traffic to the casino.
The Columbian quoted Cowlitz Chairman William Iyall, “This is a triumphant moment for The Cowlitz Indian Tribe because it marks the end of a 160-year journey back to our homeland, and the beginning of a new journey.”
Iyall was referring to the tribe’s history that extends back to 1863 when the federal government and tribe failed to agree on a treaty, which ended up to settlers flooding tribal lands and the tribe without a reservation. It took until 2002 before the tribe achieved federal recognition and then in 2010 the BIA put the land into trust.
The lawsuit had contended that the BIA erred in its interpretation of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which they argued only allows tribes recognized after 1934 to put land into trust.
One of the initial legal challengers to the tribe was the Grande Ronde Community tribe of Oregon, which claims that its Spirit Mountain Casino near Portland will lose 41 percent of its revenue to the Ilani. That tribe dropped out of the lawsuit in 2016, leaving only local landowners and three card room clubs in La Center. Others who had come to terms with the tribe included the city of Vancouver and Clark County.
A representative of one of the card clubs told the Columbian, “We still believe in the principles of our fight, and obviously, we’re disappointed. We are going to do our best to ensure the remaining two cardrooms in La Center continue to be the number one choice for folks looking for gaming entertainment.” Two of the four cardrooms in La Center have closed, the most recent being the New Phoenix Casino, which closed three weeks ago.
A Joint Project
The iLani Casino is a joint project of the 4,100-member Cowlitz Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, owners of the Mohegan Sun, one of the largest Indian casinos in the U.S. It is expected to employ 1,200 fulltime employees and attract 4.5 million visitors annually.
It will also affect the region’s economy and quality of life in ways that are largely unknown, although some effects, such as the hiring of 1,000 local residents, who will be paid $45,000 million annually, are obvious.
Four of the names of the 15 restaurants were recently announced. They include Michael Jordan’s Steak House, Line & Lure Seafood Kitchen and Tap, Rose & Thorn, a high-end tavern and eatery, and Longhouse, which serves sushi and noodles.
Others that had been known include Chef Jet, Tom’s Urban, Muze, Bar 360, VIP Lounge and Food Market, which will include a Starbucks, Smashburger and Italia, among others.
Kara Fox-LaRose, the casino’s general manager, commented: “The addition of these two restaurants allows us the ability to have something for everyone at Ilani. Both dining options boast impressive menus with unique flavors, and we are excited to welcome them to the property.”
Three of the retail operators have also been named: Marshall Rousso, offering women’s apparel for women, shoes and accessories; Ruby Blue, which sells jewelry, handbags, gifts and accessories; and the Cowlitz Trading Post.
Reflecting on how the casino will affect the region, Fox-LaRose told KGW, “We have more than a $510 million investment,” said Kara Fox-LaRose, a Mohegan tribal member and former lawyer who is managing the ilani project. “This is hopefully phase one of more opportunity for the tribe in the future.”
The casino resort is expected to lure in excess of 12,000 visitors a day, which is more people than the entire populations of La Center and Ridgefield, the nearest towns.
Besides hiring 1,000 local residents, the tribe is paying for a $100 million interchange for the interstate that will ease ingress and egress for the freeway. They are also funding a new water and sewer system and have committed to donating money to the local town.
It will pay 2 percent of net revenues to Clark County once the casino has been operating for a year.
That’s smaller than Spirit Mountain Casino and Seven Feathers Casino in Roseburg, which both donate 6 percent to local nonprofits.
Conversely, La Center may have to tighten its belt because of the revenues it had relied on from its four card room casinos, which are located in the center of town. They have funded three quarters of the city’s governmental functions with the 10 percent they pay in taxes. They also attract large numbers of players from nearby Portland. That will probably change though. Ilani has already caused one of the cardrooms to close by luring its dealers away.
Things such as “small town atmosphere” are more amorphous, but are not small matters to La Center residents Matt and Beth Doucey, who told KGW: “Strong family ties and quiet country living. All of a sudden you’ve got this mega-casino and we don’t need all this commercialization. We moved out here because we didn’t want to live in Vancouver.”
Anthony Sharrah, who owns a gift shop and bar, disagrees. “The amount of people it’s going to bring to the area – as far as the type of businesses I have – I think it’s going to benefit them.” He anticipates adding lunch service at his bar. “Everybody who lives here works someplace else, so we don’t have a lunch crowd. You have a handful of housewives who maybe don’t work. It will be nice to have some other sort of revenue stream for our residents.”
Nearby Ridgefield has a different situation. It doesn’t have businesses that will be directly affected, and it’s already started to grow geometrically, going from about 3,000 people ten years ago to 7,500 today.
Mayor Ron Onslow is concerned about the impact of the casino on infrastructure, such as schools. “They are going to be like a small city,” he commented. “They need a police force, fire, sewer, water. I’ve asked that they be a good neighbor.”
His town’s restaurant owners are looking forward to the new business, and have already gotten some of it from contractors working to finish the casino.
Eighty-five miles away, the Spirit Mountain Casino is expecting to lose millions, maybe hundreds of millions, to its newest competitor. If it loses $100 million, that would be a third of its revenue.
Justin Martin, a lobbyist for the Grand Ronde Tribe, told KGW, “Obviously, it’s a severe hit,” he said. “While we’ve had some economic success, by no means have we cleared all the hurdles to provide essential services to tribal members. Our drug and alcohol percentages are still two times the state level. Graduation rates are still below state level. It will take a couple generations to remedy. Which is why a loss like this hits us very, very hard.”
The tribe just spent $13 million in upgrades to try to soften the blow. It also recently bought an old greyhound racing track in Wood Village that it might use for gaming.
Portland’s bars, which have video lottery terminals, could also lose $110 million, according to some estimates.
