PRESS RELEASE
December 21, 2015
The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians announced today that they have
reached a settlement agreement with National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC)
that will allow the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino (CRGC) to reopen in the
near future.
"This is an important and very good day for our Tribe," Tribal Chairwoman
Claudia Gonzales said. "Our new Tribal Council promised our members we would act
swiftly to reopen the casino, get our employees back to work and start to
rebuild our Tribe's financial and cultural strength, and this agreement is an
important step towards those goals. We appreciate the efforts of Madera County,
state and local agencies and the National Indian Gaming Commission in securing
the agreements to reopen our casino. We are confident we will meet all
conditions of the NIGC agreement."
"The casino reopening shows what our Tribe can do when we put aside our
differences, and work with accountability and transparency," Tribal
Councilmember Morris Reid said. "As we have said since the election, the job of
the new council is to bring peace and prosperity back to our people."
"One of our initial pledges as a new council was to establish strong
relationships with the county, state and federal government," Councilmember
Thomas Walker said. "This agreement demonstrates our work in this area and bodes
well for our future government-to-government activities."
The reopening date of the casino will be announce in the coming days, but work
is already underway to prepare for the re-opening.
"We are pleased to be able to put more than 1,000 members of our community back
to work," Tribal Councilmember Nakomis Hernandez said. "The financial impacts of
the re-opening will benefit Madera County, the region and our tribal members
significantly."
"This has been many months in the making, we want to thank the NIGC for working
diligently with our new team to finalize the agreement that allows Chukchansi
Gold to reopen," said Christian Goode Chief Operating Officer of Chukchansi Gold
Resort and Casino. "It's a new day here at the casino and we are busy with the
work of returning it to the world-class destination it once was."
In the year since the NIGC ordered the casino closed, the tribe has worked
tirelessly to reverse course, right its internal management, install a seasoned
casino operations and oversight team, develop a security protocol with Madera
County and the State of California, and worked with the NIGC to reach a
settlement that was satisfactory to all parties. Once open, the casino will once
again begin to drive revenue into the tribe and become the economic engine the
region has been lacking since the casino was closed.
Previously, the tribe had announced that they struck a deal with Unite Here!
Local 19 to restore the jobs and benefits to the hundreds of employees who lost
their jobs when the casino closed in October 2014. Later, the tribe announced
the addition of Phil Hogen, former Chairman of the NIGC during the Bush
Administration, and Joseph Smith, former audit Director for the NIGC to the
tribe's gaming commission.
These appointments, along with the new casino management, will ensure timely
audits and transparency, both crucial factors in the NIGC settlement agreement.
When it reopens, CRGC will reopen its doors with more than 56,000 square feet of
gaming space featuring more than 1,700 reel and video slot machines and 36 table
games. The casino will also boast seven world-class restaurants.
Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino features live table games, reel and video slot
machines, a 300-seat award winning buffet, a world-class steakhouse, more than
400 luxurious hotel rooms and suites, a full service spa and various other
amenities.
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