Shiloh Resort & Casino - 2021 News Archive

Shiloh Resort & Casino begins long approval process and legal battles

September 24, 2021

The Koi Nation began a long and difficult journey last week after announcing plans to build the $600 million Shiloh Resort & Casino in Sonoma County. The tribe must now fight its way through the federal approval process, fight legal challenges from opposition groups, negotiate financial support, and win state approval for a gaming compact.

Two other Sonoma tribes have gone through this same experience to build a casino and each plan ended with opposite results. In 2002 the Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians announced plans to build a $320 million casino resort on tribal land on the southeast border of Cloverdale. The casino project has languished for nearly two decades without financial support and with local opposition.

The other Sonoma tribe is the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which announced plans to build a casino in 2003. It took the tribe ten years to win government approvals and defeat lawsuits before opening the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park in 2013.

The Koi Nation is now starting down a similar path taken by these two tribes.

"We're aware of how the battle will be. It's important we don't get excited. We'd be fools not to know the situation. We're prepared."

-Darin Beltran, Koi Nation Chairman

The Koi Nation has already started the government approval process by submitting an application to the U.S. Department of Interior to take the tribe's 68-acre vineyard site near Shiloh Ranch Regional Park into federal trust for the purpose of building the Shiloh Resort & Casino. The federal process is expected to take 2-4 years.

Opposition to the casino is already forming. Local residents have met to discuss legal options to stop the project. The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria have also expressed strong opposition with this statement:

"My tribe, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, strongly opposes the Koi Nation's attempt to acquire 68 acres of land in trust for a casino and hotel in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County. This is an egregious attempt at reservation shopping outside the Koi Nation's traditional territory and within the territory of other federally recognized tribes."

- Greg Sarris, Chairman Graton Rancheria

Shiloh Resort & Casino plans include a casino with 2,500 slot machines, six restaurants, a hotel with 400 guest rooms and a conference center.

Shiloh Resort & Casino plans announced for Sonoma County

September 17, 2021

The Koi Nation announced plans Wednesday to build a $600 million resort casino on 68 acres of vineyards it recently purchased in Sonoma County. The tribe has submitted a casino application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the U.S. Department of Interior. If approved, the land would transfer into federal trust for the tribe giving the land sovereign rights over state juridiction, and allowing the tribe to build the casino.

Koi Nation Plans Casino on Sonoma County Farmland - Courtesy of KPIX CBS SF Bay Area, Sep 16, 2021. Available from YouTube

If approved by the federal govenment, the Shiloh Resort & Casino can operate Class II gaming without state approval. The tribe intends to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the state which will allow Vegas-style slot machines and table games. In return the tribe will pay the state a percentage of net revenues.

The federal approval process will begin within a few months with the an environmental impact study following by a report and public hearings. That is expected to take about a year.

It is likely there will be lawsuits filed by casino opponents that may delay the approval process. The Shiloh Resort & Casino project should be approved within 2-4 years; however, the lawsuits could extend that time indefinitely.