California | Casino Stalker

Manzanita Band off-reservation casino project remains in limbo

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation is seeking to build a casino at this site along CA-11 in Calexico, California. Image from Google Maps

The Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has been seeking an off-reservation casino for more than a decade but the project has been stuck in extended limbo.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued the final environmental impact statement in October 2011. But a record of decision was never issued.

A "For Sale" sign has since popped up at the location of the proposed casino, The Imperial Valley Press reports. No one has heard from the tribe or the BIA about the project, raising speculation about its status.

“We don’t hear from the Manzanita Tribe unless they have something they want to tell us,” developer John Tuthill told the paper. “There’s been no news from them at all,” Imperial County Supervisor John Renison added.

The tribe is pursuing the casino under the two-part determination provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. If the BIA approves, the state governor would have final say over the project.

The gaming site is located in the city of Calexico, near the United States-Mexico border. It's about 53 miles from tribal headquarters in Boulevard.

Get the Story:
Proposed Calexico casino project’s land for sale (The Imperial Valley Press 7/12)

Federal Register Notice:
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Indians Fee-to-Trust Transfer and Casino Project, Calexico, CA (October 7, 2011)