The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians has proposed an updated deal that would allow it to build a new casino in Sonoma County, California. This passing of this agreement will enable the building of a new resort-style destination, with up to 1,500 slots, a 300-room hotel and other amenities.
The proposal includes provisions outlining payments to the county, a conditional agreement not to build a casino on its land outside of Petaluma City and terms dictating any future environmental studies.
The agreement will go before the Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors for approval on Tuesday.
The deal reflects the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians’ efforts to revise terms from a 2008 agreement that the Tribe deems unfair to its interests. The Tribe says it now faces financial losses amid competition from newer, larger casinos in the region.
Dry Creek Rancheria Chairman Chris Wright commented: “The new memorandum of agreement (MOA) that we've been working on for years is fair to Dry Creek Rancheria and the county.
“We have built a good relationship with the county counsel and county supervisors. I look forward to maintaining that government-to-government relationship for years to come.”
This project has been long in the works, with the Tribe conceiving the idea for the casino 16 years ago. It proposed a $300m luxury resort hotel and casino in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County but these plans never came to fruition; this agreement would represent a major breakthrough.
The MOA states that Dry Creek Rancheria will pay the county $750,000 annually until four years after the resort is built, at which points a 2% annual increase will kick in. Annual payments will not exceed $1.5m.
