Proposed Move Of the Win-River casino In California is Back on the Table

The proposed move of a Redding Rancheria casino is being addressed once again. The US federal government has decided to restart an environmental impact study on the Win-River Resort & Casino’s move to property owned by the tribe and located next to Interstate 5 and Churn Creek Road. The issue was first brought up in 2016, but hasn’t seen much discussion until now.

Property Relocation Revival

The casino is a massive resort that occupies an area of approximately 70,000 square feet. It consists of a 9-story hotel that features restaurants, conference centers, retail stores, 250 rooms and, of course, a large casino floor. Currently, it’s located next to I-5, south of S. Bonnyview Rd in Redding, CA.

Even though the casino does not need any permission from the City of Redding nor Shasta County, as the only required approval comes from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Redding Rancheria’s CEO, Tracy Edwards, stated that the resort wants to be friendly, which is why it does everything it can to work with the city and the county.

No Deadline in Place

Edwards stated that everyone at the company is excited with the news of the government publishing in its ranks that the process of moving the property into a trust is restarting. She added that Redding Rancheria is pleased with the fact that the authorities are showing a commitment to cooperating with indigenous communities and it respects their sovereignty. Additionally, they are happy to be able to put the land into trusts so that the casino can be moved to I-5.

The CEO further stated that Redding Rancheria hopes that, with the government’s interest to start the discussion once more, the case will transfer to the local level. In doing so, the casino will be able to work with the county and the city and, ultimately, agree on all matters and get the project going.

The company’s only goal is to be transparent and mitigate any unwanted off-reservation impact. Some of those impacts include traffic and law enforcement. Finally, Edwards noted that she is often asked the question ‘When is the casino going to move?’ to which there’s no answer as the federal government hasn’t set a deadline for it.

Tribes Also Face Battles in Texas

Texas is one of the US states that have been opposing gambling for a long time now, with one exception – if the resorts bring massive amounts of money, then they are more than welcome. Tribes in this state are also facing difficulties as they were left out of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 because of the Restoration Act of 1987.

Two tribes in the state, the Tigua and the Alabama-Coushatta of East Texas, had led a long battle with the authorities, but, because the dispute couldn’t be resolved, the US Supreme Court could finally solve the matter once and for all.