The Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Washington is moving towards opening its 0 million Ilani Casino Resort casino near La Center, just off Interstate 5 and north of Portland, Oregon.
The 368,000 square feet will be devoted to gaming, dining and entertainment, with 2,500 slot machines, 75 gaming tables, 15 restaurants and retail. The entertainment area will accommodate 2,500 visitors.
The 4,100-member tribe is aiming at a mid-April opening, but a hearing of a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court has the possibility of stopping that from happening.
Work is also continuing on the Exit 16 Interchange, site of a $32 million improvement designed to make it easier for patrons to reach the casino from the interstate.
Tribal Chairman William Iyall, noting that the tribe only achieved federal recognition 17 years ago, said last week, “It’s our chance to prosper now” adding, “It’s just a great feeling.”
Oregon’s Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, who operate Spirit Mountain Casino, estimate the new casino will siphon off about $100 million a year. The Oregon lottery estimates it will lose $110 million in sales.
Iyall counters that a lot of contractors for the project come from Oregon. He told the Oregonian: “The bottom line is that our project’s contribution to the area far exceeds any lost revenue for tax base consideration.”
The Cowlitz tribe is accustomed to opposition to its casino. It has, over the years, battled the Clark County Board of Commissioners and La Center’s card rooms, who are part of a group whose case is still pending before the Supreme Court.
The Trump Administration was recently given an extension to March 1 to file its response to Citizens Against Reservation Shopping. The battle lowered the tribe’s bond rating, making it more expensive to borrow construction money. The tribe has partnered with the Mohegan Tribe, which operates the Mohegan Sun, to build and operate the casino. The goal is to turn over the casino to the Cowlitz tribe in seven years. Meantime Kara Fox-LaRose, a 21-year veteran of the Sun, will be president and general manager.
Due to opposition from Clark County, the tribe had to spend $15 million to build an onsite wastewater reclamation plant.
Says Iyall “It would have been great to have gotten past the litigation, but we weren’t able to do that.”
The federal government put the 152 acres into trust in 2010. The court case revolves around the question of whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs should have put the land into trust. Opponents base their case on the 2009 Carcieri v. Salazar decision by the high court in which he ruled that land can only be put into trust by a tribe that was “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934. The tribe was recognized in 2000. The Obama Administration argued that since the federal government once attempted to negotiate a treaty with the tribe that it must have recognized it. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with that logic and so ruled in April 2016.
Several tribes with similar cases are closely watching how this one will go.
New Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is said to be less sympathetic toward tribal jurisdiction than the previous AG, and so some wonder what stance he will take on this case.
