Openings & Closings | Opinion

EJ Montini: Arizona open for business except for one tribal casino

Monday, March 28, 2016

Employees at the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino and Resort in Glendale, Arizona. Photo from Facebook

Why does the state of Arizona keep fighting the new casino opened by the Tohono O'odham Nation? Columnist EJ Montini pins the blame on Gov. Doug Ducey (R):

When Gov. Doug Ducey took office he promised in his first State of the State address to cut government red tape and regulatory delays so that every commercial enterprise in Arizona could travel at what he called “the speed of business.”
He should have added…”unless I don’t like you.”
Ducey does not like the Tohono O’odham Nation.
At least he doesn’t like the tribe’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley, located near the big entertainment district in Glendale.
The tribe has faced nothing but legal and bureaucratic red lights, speed bumps, spiked “stop sticks” and roadblocks from the state.
Still, the facility opened.
The state couldn’t prevent that from happening after having lost to the tribe in court and with federal agencies somewhere around 20 different times.
But with backing from Ducey the state has done everything it can to slooooooow down the casino’s development process.

Get the Story:
EJ Montini: Ducey's denounce, deny and delay war on tribe (The Arizona Republic 3/27)