The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians have taken a step closer to opening a casino with more than 1,000 slot machines in southern California, US.
Last week, the US Department of the Interior published a draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register, initiating a 75-day public consultation.
Shane Chapparosa, spokesman for the tribe, said the most extensive portion of the process necessary to take land into trust has now been completed.
“This is step forward for the tribe and for Barstow,” he said. “For the past 10 years, we have worked with Barstow, California and DOI officials to follow the procedure traditionally used by tribes to obtain land for off-reservation gaming to bring viable economic development to both of our communities.”
Representing an investment of $160m, the proposed casino earmarked for the city of Barstow is to have 57,000sq.ft of gaming floor space featuring 1,325 slot machines and 57 table games.
Having first pursued the idea of opening an off-reservation casino in 2001, the tribe began working with the DOI and filed its formal land-in-trust application in 2006.
While the EIS phase proceeds, the tribe now plans to begin negotiations on a new gaming compact with State Governor Jerry Brown.
