Wilton Rancheria sees BIA movement on long-awaited casino bid

Monday, January 4, 2016

Artist's rendering of the proposed Wilton Rancheria casino in Sacramento County, California. Image from Wilton EIS

>
The Wilton Rancheria is finally seeing action on its long-awaited casino project in northern California.

The tribe plans to use a 282-acre site in Sacramento County for a 601,780 square-foot facility that would include a 110,260 square-foot gaming floor, a 12-story hotel with 302 rooms, a 48,150-square-foot convention center and a parking lot with 3,500 spaces, according to the draft environmental impact statement that was released last week. The land sits off a major highway near Galt, about 25 miles south of Sacramento.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a public hearing on the project at the Chabolla Community Center in Galt on January 29. Written comments can be submitted until February 11.

The tribe's federal recognition was reaffirmed in 2009. Presumably, that makes the tribe eligible for an exception in Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that applies to newly recognized tribes.

Get the Story:
Study: Proposed Galt casino would dramatically reshape local landscape (The Sacramento Business Journal 12/28)
Sacramento County tribe seeks land for casino near Highway 99 (The Fresno Bee 1/1)

Federal Register Notices:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wilton Rancheria Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, Sacramento County, California (December 29, 2015)
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wilton Rancheria Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, Sacramento County, California (December 4, 2013) Related Stories:
Wilton Rancheria at impasse with city over stalled casino bid (10/29)
Wilton Rancheria still waiting for BIA movement on gaming plan (02/27)