An Indian tribe wants to build a grand, $1.5 billion, Las Vegas-style casino resort on a swath of land overlooking San Francisco Bay -- a spot more than 100 miles from its tribal lands.
An Associated Press examination of federal records has found that about 12 tribes have filed applications to set up casinos on distant pieces of land, close to population centers, some slated for land more than 100 miles away.
Gambling foes complain that Indian tribes are trying to expand their operations to get closer to lucrative big-city markets. They fear that more gambling will bring more crime and other social ills.
The vast majority of the hundreds of Indian casinos in the U.S. are on tribal land -- often, well-removed from big cities -- as envisioned under the 1988 federal law that created the $26 billion Indian gambling industry. But the law has exceptions, including for such tribes as the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians that have regained federal recognition in recent decades and are looking to establish a reservation. The Pomo Indians are leading the Northern California proposal.
Off-reservation casinos already exist in Milwaukee and Spokane, Wash., having been approved in the 1990s.
Last year, the Bush administration decided that Indian casinos must be within commuting distance of reservations. It rejected applications from more than 20 tribes. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is now reassessing the commuting-distance rule. And many tribes are optimistic.
Gary Garrison, a spokesman for the bureau, said that isolated tribes should be allowed to run gambling operations off the reservation. But, he added: "We're also very conscious of whether the communities approve or disapprove. We don't want tribes willy-nilly going off reservation."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement