California | NIGC | Openings & Closings

Chukchansi Tribe remains in talks with NIGC for casino reopening

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold, California. Photo from Facebook

The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians in California could reopen its casino by the end of the year, Chairman Reggie Lewis said.

The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino has been closed since October 2010. The National Indian Gaming Commission hit the tribe with a notice of violation and a temporary closure order after a scuffle between rival factions that led to criminal charges against 15 people, most of whom have accepted guilty pleas.

"We are doing everything we can to get it open as soon as we can," Lewis told The Fresno Bee of the ongoing talks with the NIGC and the state of California, whose leaders requested an injunction in order to protect the health and safety of patrons and employees.

More than 1,000 people lost their jobs as result of the closure. A few have found jobs at other tribal facilities while most others are still looking for work in other industries.

“It’s very sad,” Francisco Silva, who worked at the casino for 10 years, told the paper. “I was treated well; Now, it’s very hard to get a job at 55.”

Unemployment benefits for most of the workers ended last month.

Get the Story:
Chukchansi’s ‘forgotten’ people: workers left without jobs in wake of shutdown (The Fresno Bee 5/23)