WEEKLY FEATURE: Coquilles Gain Medford Approval, Waste No Time Opening

The Coquille Indian Tribe fought long and hard for its off-reservation Medford casino. Now that it’s been approved, the tribe immediately got to work setting up machines.

WEEKLY FEATURE: Coquilles Gain Medford Approval, Waste No Time Opening

On Jan. 10, the Department of Interior (DOI) gave its approval to an off-reservation casino project in Medford, Ore. from the Coquille Indian Tribe, a project that had been a decade-plus in the making.

The ruling is the latest in a string of tribal casino approvals from the outgoing Biden administration, all of which have been heavily criticized by fellow gaming tribes as being fast-tracked before Donald Trump takes office Jan. 20.

According to KTVL, three tribes—the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Karuk Tribe, and Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation—filed suit in federal court the same day asking for a temporary restraining order to halt the project. Additionally, Sen. Ron Wyden told the outlet that he would “fight this senseless decision with all the options available, including the Congressional Review Act that empowers elected representatives to battle back against rogue federal agency decisions just like this one.”

Despite the controversy, the Coquilles wasted no time installing Class II slots at the site of the proposed casino. Per a Jan. 15 report from the Rogue Valley Times, there are a couple dozen machines available to patrons at a building that was formerly a bowling alley.

“It’s been 12 years, and we’re not waiting any longer,” Ray Doering, director of public affairs and compliance for Coquille-owned Tribal One, told the RVT. “We wanted to establish that this is what we’re doing.”

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