Tribe gets OK for casino near Sacramento

Don Thompson

Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2002 | 9:49 a.m.

SACRAMENTO -- The U.S. Department of Interior accepted a Northern California Indian tribe's site for a $215 million Nevada-style casino near Sacramento Tuesday, despite a pending legal appeal by two neighboring communities.

"We are ecstatic to have a tribal land base again after 40 years and look forward to beginning a new chapter in our history -- one that we believe will be marked with renewed hope, economic self-sufficiency and bright futures for generations to come," said Jessica Tavares, chair of the 247-member United Auburn Indian Community.

The tribe's 40-acre reservation near Auburn was terminated in 1967 and the land parceled out to individuals, about 50 of whom still live in trailers and run-down houses on the original site.

Interior's decision came less than a week after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., rejected an emergency stay sought by Rocklin and Roseville, which border the unincorporated casino site near Interstate 80 about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento.

The location is midway between San Francisco and Reno. Northern Nevada casino operators have said the casino is perhaps their biggest competitor among the tribal casinos built or pending in Northern California.

The appeal by the cities and the opposition group Citizens for Safer Communities remains pending, their attorney said, but a tribal attorney said that by the time it is resolved it won't matter. Opponents lost an initial federal court ruling earlier last week.

The tribe plans to begin construction this year and open by mid-2003 a 200,000-square-foot Thunder Valley Casino in conjunction with Las Vegas-based Station Casinos Inc. The tribe expects to offer as many as 2,000 slot machines, a 1,200-seat show room, three restaurants, a buffet and food court.