- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
Just days after the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians opened a preview casino in Vallejo, Calif., the U.S. Department of the Interior withdrew its earlier gaming determination for the tribe's trust land, forcing the temporary facility to close and sending the broader project back into legal uncertainty.
The reversal, issued Friday, came one week after Scotts Valley launched a temporary Class II facility on the 160‑acre site. Interior’s decision concludes that the tribe did not meet the “restored lands” exception under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a test that requires tribes to demonstrate modern, historical and temporal ties to newly acquired trust land.
“Upon reconsideration, I conclude that … the Band has not established a significant historical connection to the Parcel,” Assistant Secretary William H. Kirkland III wrote.
Scotts Valley said it will challenge the ruling in federal court. Chairman Shawn Davis said in a statement provided to Tribal Business News that the administrative record “overwhelmingly supports the tribe’s gaming eligibility” and that the tribe will “move quickly” to file suit.
The tribe also confirmed that gaming operations at the preview casino are temporarily suspended while it pursues legal options.
The decision adds another turn to a long‑running effort by Scotts Valley to build the Vallejo project amid strong opposition from surrounding tribes, per prior Tribal Business News reporting. The tribe, headquartered in Lake County, has argued that its history of federal recognition and restoration supports gaming eligibility on the Vallejo parcel. Interior initially agreed, issuing a Jan. 10, 2025, decision that placed the land into trust for gaming, government operations and housing.
That approval cleared the way for a larger Class III project that included an eight‑story casino, restaurants, bars, a ballroom, 24 tribal homes, an administration building and a 45‑acre biological preserve. The Trump administration later announced a review of the decision in March at the behest of opposing tribes, prompting multiple legal challenges.
In October, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Interior had the authority to reconsider its decision but required the agency to issue a final decision by the end of July.
The reversal is also a significant development for neighboring gaming tribes that opposed Scotts Valley’s project. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, operator of Cache Creek Casino Resort, has argued that the Vallejo site sits within Patwin ancestral territory. The Lytton Rancheria, United Auburn Indian Community and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation also opposed the project.
Scotts Valley broke ground on its administration building in September and later announced plans for the modular preview casino. Those operations are now on hold as the tribe prepares its legal challenge.
