- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation — Idaho’s only Native community without casino revenue — have partnered with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe to acquire land for a potential gaming resort.
According to an announcement shared with local publication BoiseDev, tribal leaders have finalized an agreement to acquire approximately 557 acres of land located just south of Interstate 84 between Mountain Home and Boise. The site, straddling Ada and Elmore counties, will host a gaming resort aimed at building economic self-sufficiency for the tribe, though multiple regulatory approvals remain ahead.
The casino project is intended to generate revenue that could help tackle high unemployment, inadequate healthcare, and housing shortages that have impacted tribal citizens, according to Shoshone-Paiute Chairman Brian Mason.
“I dream of a future where our members have the resources, education, healthcare and employment opportunities they need to care for their families and preserve our way of life,” Mason said in a statement. “We want to solve our own problems and provide for our people. Tribal gaming will allow us to make these dreams into a reality.”
The planned development includes a gaming facility, a luxury hotel, restaurants and an entertainment venue, designed to compete in the region’s evolving gaming market, per a report from trade publication World Casino Directory.
The proposal faces significant regulatory challenges. The land is not contiguous to the tribe’s existing reservation and must be taken into federal trust, requiring approval from state and local governments. A series of off-reservation casino proposals across the West Coast — primarily in Oregon and California — continue to spark a wave of legal battles between competing tribes and the Department of the Interior.
Complicating matters, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have proposed their own casino near Mountain Home.
For the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, whose reservation spans parts of Idaho and Nevada, the casino represents a crucial economic opportunity for a community that has struggled with limited revenue sources.
“It will be a fundamental change to the people for the better if you have revenue to put into education, healthcare and public safety,” Mason told BoiseDev. “It’s for our kids and our community. These are things we need, basic stuff – and gaming is going to get us there.”
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