The Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians has been trying to open a casino for more than 10 years and it looks like the tribe will be waiting even long as a lawsuit plays out in federal court.
The tribe first negotiated a Class III compact with the state of California in 1999. A new deal was reached in 2004 and submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for review. The BIA let the compact go into effect in December 2004. Amador County filed a lawsuit against the agency and, after five years of litigation, the case appeared to be dead. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, revived the lawsuit. In a decision issued on Friday, the court said the main issue in the case -- whether the tribe's 67.5-acre site can be used for gaming -- must be debated on the merits. The tribe is seeking to build a casino with 950 slot machines and 20 gaming tables. Get the Story: