Tohono O'odham Nation prepares for opening of permanent casino

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Tohono O'odham Nation is only a couple of months away from opening a permanent casino on newly acquired homelands in Arizona.

The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley, being built at a reported cost of $400 million, debuts to the public on February 19, 2020. The opening comes 11 years after the tribe initially announced plans for a gaming facility near Phoenix, the most populous city in the state.

To prepare for the arrival, the tribe is hosting two job fairs at the casino's administrative office next week, on December 4 and on December 7. The plan is to fill 650 jobs in the coming months, with the goal of hiring 1,300 new employees overall, The Arizona Republic reported.

"Desert Diamond Casino offers more than just a job; enjoy a great work environment that encourages opportunities for building a rewarding career," Treena Parvello, the Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, said in a news release.

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Desert Diamond Casino West Valley is located on a 135-acre parcel in Glendale. The land was placed in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs following a lengthy battle in which nearby tribes, and local and state officials, along with some national-level politicians, tried to block the acquisition.

The Tohono O'odham Nation prevailed at every step. Eventually the state relented and updated its Class III gaming compact with the tribe to account for the new facility.

And Congress was never ever able to pass legislation aimed at punishing the tribe despite a costly lobbying effort that was largely funded by the Indian nations with existing casinos in the Phoenix area.

The Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act of 1986, which was co-sponsored by the late U.S. Senator John McCain when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, created a settlement fund to enable the Tohono O'odham Nation to restore up to 9,880 acres for the flooded reservation. As long as the acquired lands are in "non-incorporated" areas of three counties, the BIA is required to place them in trust.

Two years later, McCain helped the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act become law. Although it contains a general prohibition on gaming on newly acquired lands, Section 20 of IGRA includes an exception for land acquired in connection with a settlement -- which is exactly the situation Congress envisioned for tribes like the Tohono O'odham Nation.

The permanent Desert Diamond facility will replace a temporary casino that has been in operation at the site since December 2015.