California | Casino Stalker | NIGC

Pinoleville Pomo Nation stays quiet on long-delayed casino plan

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Pinoleville Pomo Nation has been hoping to use a property at 2150 North State Street in Ukiah, California, for a casino. Image from Google Maps The Pinoleville Pomo Nation isn't commenting on plans for a long-delayed casino in California.

The tribe announced the $50 million project in 2009. Plans called for a 90,000-square-foot casino and a 72,100-square-foot hotel on an 8.8-acre site in Ukiah.

The property, however, is now up for sale, The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported. The tribe didn't respond to the paper's request for comment but the development could be viewed as another setback for the effort.

The tribe had to renegotiate its Class III gaming compact after the Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the original agreement as excessive in terms of revenue sharing.

A new compact was signed in 2011 and the BIA let it take effect in February 2012.

The project appeared to be moving forward after Mendocino County approved a memorandum of understanding in May 2013. And the tribe got some good news just a year ago when the National Indian Gaming Commission said the site could be used for a casino.

The property is located within the boundaries of the Pinoleville Reservation, according to a September 2015 Indian lands opinion. But it's now being offered at a price of $3.2 million, The Press-Democrat reported.

The site, located at 2150 North State Street, was being used by the tribe for a marijuana operation that was raided by county authorities only a few days before the NIGC issued its opinion last September.

Read More on the Story:
Proposed casino site for sale in Ukiah, casting doubt on Pinoleville tribe’s plans (The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat 10/20)

Federal Register Notice:
Indian Gaming (February 3, 2012)