The golf courses at the Las Vegas Paiute Resort lie in front of the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Nevada. Photo from Facebook

The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe of Nevada is excited about a new national monument.

President Barack Obama established the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument on ancestral Paiute territory in December. It's located next to the Snow Mountain Reservation and the tribe hopes to capitalize on visitors by building a hotel and a conference center, and maybe even a casino, there.

The tribe already operates the Las Vegas Paiute Resort on the reservation. The new monument sits behind three golf courses at the facility, The Las Vegas Sun reported.

Chairman Benny Tso, center, helped unveil the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument last December. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman is on the left. Photo from Twitter

The Interior Department is created an advisory committee that will help shape development plans around Tule Springs, the paper said. The tribe expects to have a seat on the panel.

“I envision this will be the staple of the tribe within the next 15 years,” Chairman Benny Tso told the paper, referring to the tribe's relationship with its neighbors. “What serves (the city) is also going to serve us.”

The tribe also has a second, much-smaller reservation -- known as a colony -- near downtown Las Vegas. A smoke shop is the primary business there.

Get the Story:
Las Vegas’ smallest sovereign nation (The Las Vegas Sun 7/20)