Two tribes who want to build off-reservation casinos in Barstow, California, are reviewing their options to keep the project alive.

The Big Lagoon Rancheria and the Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians signed compacts to build two side-by-side casinos off a major interstate. But opposition from Democrats and other tribes prevented the agreements from gaining approval before they expired on Monday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) supports the project because it would keep the Big Lagoon Rancheria from building a casino on environmentally sensitive land in northern California. Barstow is more than 700 miles from the reservation.

The Los Coyotes Band is eying Barstow because its reservation is remote.

Get the Story:
Barstow gambling deals expire (Copley News Service 9/19)
Tribes update council on casino plans (The Desert Dispatch 9/18)