Sky River Casino - 2019 News Archive

Elk Grove Casino hits another legal roadblock

December 6, 2019

Stand Up for California, an anti-casino activist group, has filed an appeal with the Bureau of Indian Affairs alleging the Wilton Rancheria's land-to-trust application was not properly approval by the U.S. Interior Department.

Although the approved application was signed by Lawrence S. Roberts, principal deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, the Director of Stand Up, Cheryl Schmit, cites regulations requiring the final approval must be made by either the secretary or assistant secretary of Indian Affairs. She asserts: "A principal deputy assistant secretary lacks authority to make this decision".

Wilton Rancheria spokesman Bob Magnuson criticized the appeal as "pathetic." He said, "We know there are going to be nuisance lawsuits and that's all this is".

When Lawrence S. Roberts, principal deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, signed the approval it was Jan. 19, 2017, the last day of the Obama administration.

Howard Dickstein, a Sacramento tribal-law attorney, stated "We are in somewhat uncharted waters. This is a murky situation where you have one administration walking out the door, rushing through the process of taking land into trust."

The appeal could now take months for review by the Interior Board of Indian Affairs, an appellate review body under the Secretary of the Interior.

Although the Bureau of India Affairs confirmed last week that the land transfer was completed Feb 10, 2017, it has not been confirmed by publication in the National Register.

Katherine Florey, a professor at the UC Davis School of Law, says this case "could be tied down in litigation for quite a while. Even if the tribe is ultimately successful, it often takes a long time to get there".

Elk Grove casino project starts 'ghost mall' demolition

November 29, 2019

Courtesy of ABC10

Wilton Rancheria will build a $500 million resort casino in Elk Grove, California at the site of the "ghost mall", an unfinished shopping mall that was abandoned after bankruptcy in 2008. The partially built structure has stood empty since that time.

That situation is now changing. Construction workers are onsite to demolish the northern section of the ghost mall which should take 3-4 weeks. This will clear the building site for the Wilton Rancheria casino which is scheduled to start by the end of December.

At the demolition event, Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond Hitchcock said, "We're starting a new chapter moving closer to a brighter future for our tribal citizens the people of Elk Grove and the greater Sacramento region."

The southern half of the ghost mall is owned by Howard Hughes Corp, which filed for demolition permits last week. The company will clear that section by end of February.

Elk Grove casino court win is appealed

October 29, 2019

Earlier this month a District of Columbia federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Stand Up for California for the purpose of blocking the Wilton Rancheria from building a casino in Elk Grove, Sacramento County, California.

At that time many considered that decision by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden to be the winning end to a long legal fight with activist, opposition groups. It was hoped to be the final court battle for the $500 million Elk Grove casino project.

However, two weeks later on Oct. 21, the judicial decision was appealed by Stand Up for California! The group wants to reverse the ruling and has 60 days to provide written arguments that support their appeal.

Their arguments involves the Feb. 10, 2017 decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior to take the Elk Grove casino land into federal trust for the benefit of the tribe.

Stand Up claims that action was taken in an "extraordinarily expedited two-month review at the end of the Obama administration after spending several years reviewing a separate site in Galt."

As a result this "last-minute switch" to the Elk Grove site misled the public, and thus resulted in "an inadequate analysis of the project's impacts."

Wilton Rancheria Tribal Chair Raymond "Chuckie" Hitchcock disagreed with the claims.

"That's just simply not true," he said. "Elk Grove, Galt and Wilton were different alternatives (that) were all being reviewed at the very beginning of the scoping period back in 2013. They all have mounds of environmental documents.

"Did the preferred site change at the end, once it was revealed that the most preferred site and less environmentally impactful was the Elk Grove site? Yes. But was it reviewed and studied to the fullest extent (of) BIA (requirements)? Absolutely."

Hitchcock believes this appeal has no chance of overturning the judge's ruling, and added, "The tribe fully expects to put a shovel in the ground in the very near future, regardless of this frivolous appeal."

Elk Grove casino wins final court battle

October 16, 2019

A District of Columbia federal judge has dismisses a lawsuit filed by Stand Up for California to block Wilton Rancheria from building a casino in Elk Grove, Sacramento County, California.

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden issued his ruling Oct 7 and cited the fact that the Elk Grove casino project location was land occupied by Wilton ancestors and located near historical tribal sites. He found "no evidence of a legal or procedural flaw" in the U.S. Interior's decision to take that land into federal trust for the tribe.

Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond Hitchcock issued this statement following the ruling:

"We are gratified by the judge's ruling to decisively reject dishonest arguments put forth by well-funded special interest groups that have tried at every turn to stop our project. We will continue to move ahead with our plans to build the resort and casino."

Hitchcock also said the groundbreaking for the casino is "imminent

Elk Grove Casino Project Fights Another Lawsuit

July 4, 2019

In another attempt to block construction of the Elk Grove casino project, the activist group Stand Up for California! filed another lawsuit on June 13, 2019 against the U.S. Department of Interior and the Wilton Rancheria that challenges the legality of transferring Elk Grove land owned by the tribe into federal trust for the purpose of building a casino.

The U.S. Department Interior completed the land transfer in Feb 2017. Stand Up for California! wants the U.S. District Court to vacate that land transfer into federal trust and rescind the records of conveyance.

On July 3 both defendants filed their responses with the court. The Bureau of Indian Affairs filed a 20-page report for the federal government claiming a "bad faith" challenge by the plaintiff. The Wilton Rancheria filed a 25-page response in its defense.

Tribal Chairman Raymond Hitchcock said, "I am most confident that the litigation is going to go in our favor in the next few months. The judge will be reviewing all the documents and this salacious litigation put before the tribe by Stand Up for California! for the past two years will finally come to an end in the tribe's favor."

Hitchcock then mentioned the construction schedule may be somewhat delayed pending the court's decision. He feels the construction will likely be completed by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Demolition of "Ghost Mall" clears way for Elk Grove casino

March 25, 2019

The casino site for the Wilton Rancheria casino proposed for Elk Grove has been cleared of previous construction projects including the abandoned "Ghost Mall".

Elk Grove 'Ghost Mall' demolition paves way for new casino, resort - Courtesy of ABC 10 KTTV, Feb 1, 2019. Available from YouTube

Eleven years ago the Howard Hughes Corp began construction on a shopping mall at Highway 99 and Kammerer Road. Construction was stopped and never resumed resulting in the "ghost mall" nickname. Hughes officially abandoned the project earlier this year.

Another anti-casino lawsuit tossed by federal judge

January 25, 2019

A federal judge has denied a lawsuit filed two years ago by the anti-casino group Stand Up for California! against the U.S. Interior Department and the Wilton Rancheria in an attempt for a restraining order to stop construction of the tribe's casino resort planned for Elk Grove, California.

The lawsuit alleged the inappropriate contact early communications between the federal government and tribe, and all correspondence and documents during that time should be made availabe to the plaintiff.

A decision last week in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled against the activist group. Judge Trevor McFadden wrote "federal regulations require conversations between the department and tribes about the land acquisition process before the release of a decision."

This is the second lawsuit filed against the Elk Grove casino by Stand Up for California! Two years ago a federal court rejected their claim that the Interior Department's approval to place the casino site into federal trust was invalid because it was made by an interim official of that department.

Wilton chairman predicts casino opening in 2020

January 4, 2019

Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond Hitchcock said last week his tribe expects to finish construction of the Sky River Casino by the end of 2020.

A final determination of the opening date will be announced later based on progress of the project. Hitchcock said "There's no definitive date yet, but we're looking at early 2019 to begin this process, and it's slated for completion by late 2020."

Construction is expected to take 12-18 months to complete.