The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe hopes to build a casino at this site along North China Lake Boulevard in Ridgecrest, California. Image from Google Maps
The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe is once again pursuing an off-reservation casino in California. The tribe is hoping to build the casino in Ridgecrest. That's more than 130 miles from tribal headquarters in Bishop, according to Google Maps. To smooth the path for the project, the tribe wants enter into an agreement to pay Ridgecrest an estimated $400,000 a year for municipal services and to address the impacts of the casino, according to the agenda for a city council meting on Wednesday. The document includes a copy of the proposed municipal services agreement. A supplemental agenda includes a proposed letter of support from the city to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The tribe has yet to file the land-into-trust application for the site, The Ridgecrest Daily Independent reported.
The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe wants to open an off-reservation casino on this site in Ridgecrest, California. Image from Timbisha Shoshone Tribe
According to the documents submitted to the city, the casino would be located near the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. The property is bounded on the west by China Lake Boulevard, McLean Street on the east and Ward Avenue on the south. On the north, it extends slightly above Graaf Avenue. The site is vacant, according to a satellite view on Google Maps. A lot located on the corner of China Lake and Ward is not part of the plan, according to a map supplied to the city. The tribe previously sought a casino in Hesperia, more than 200 miles from its headquarters in Bishop. The tribe has to look elsewhere for gaming due to a prohibition in federal law applying to its reservation in Death Valley National Park. Get the Story:
Council to talk casino (The Ridgecrest Daily Independent 4/19)
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