Shiloh Resort & Casino - 2025 News Archive

Koi Nation Casino | Judge Sides with Graton Lawsuit

September 6, 2025

A federal judge has overturned the Koi Nation's casino approval granted by the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) on Jan. 23, 2025, and ordered the DOI to revisit its assessment process and redetermine a final decision.

Last January the DOI agreed to transfer 68 acres of Koi Nation land in Windsor, Sonoma County, into federal trust for the purpose of building a $600 million casino to be named Shiloh Resort & Casino.

Graton Rancheria immediately sued the DOI claiming the department wrongly approved the Koi Nation casino project. Graton said the KOI Nation did not qualify for ancestral ties to the land, and the DOI failed the perform due diligence when investigating the historical facts. Graton Resort Casino is only 15 miles from the Koi Nation casino site.

The ruling by Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California orders the DOI to reassess its land?into?trust decision and reexamine the federal restored lands exemption regarding ancestral ties.

Judge Lin said the Koi Nation land-to-trust authorization was approved by the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and should have been sign by the Secretary of the Interior. She further said the evidence for historical ties to the land was inadequate and the government did not properly consult with Graton Rancheria.

Conclusion
The court ruling puts the Koi Nation casino project in jeopardy. The DOI reexamination of the casino application will take years to process, and the Shiloh casino project will remain suspended until the process is completed and a final decision is determined.

Did Gov. Newsom take $2M from tribe to block another tribe's casino construction?

July 31, 202

A news article thisd week by the Daily Mail alleges Gov. Gavin Newsom personally solicited and received a $2 million donation from the Graton Rancheria after his efforts to block the Koi Nation from building a competing casino within 15 miles of the Graton Resort Casino.

Last May, Gov. Newsom and the State of California filed a lawsuit to void a previous decision by the Interior Department to approve the Koi Nation's $600 million casino project in Sonoma County. The casino, named Shiloh Resort & Casino, is a 1.2 million square-foot project near Winsor, California.

According to the Daily Mail, most of the money went to The California Partners Project, a nonprofit co-founded by Gov. Newsom's wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Gov. Newsom has strongly rejected the claims as "insulting and offensive."

Shiloh Casino Project | California Files Critical Lawsuit

May 10, 2025

The State of California and Gov. Newsom filed a lawsuit last Friday in the Northern District of California to void the decision by the Interior Department to approve the Koi Nation's $600 million casino project in Sonoma County. The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that the casino site does not qualify for gaming under the "restored lands" exception of the U.S. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The restored lands exception applies to tribes that were previously recognized by the federal government, and then lost the recognition, but later regained it back. The qualifying tribes later purchased back by much of their ancestral lands, which qualify as restored lands.

In 1916 the Koi Nation of Northern California was recognized by the federal government as part of the Lower Lake Rancheria. That recognition was terminated in 1956. Years later the tribe was formally recognized in 2019. In 1921 the Koi Nation purchased 68 acres northeast of Santa Rosa and applied to the Interior Department to build the Shiloh Casino Resort.

The California lawsuit claims the Koi Nation does not have significant ancestral ties to the Sonoma County area to qualify under the restored lands exception. The Interior Department disagrees and said its decision was based on ancestral trade routes, census reports and burial grounds.

The California plaintiff lawyers have countered with this statement:

"Trade is a transitory activity that necessarily involves other communities; it does not imply an enduring tribal presence comparable to the exercise of tribal sovereignty or control," they write. "The presence of individual tribal ancestors, during the twentieth century, is not the same thing as the collective presence of the Tribe itself."

The California lawsuit also claims the U.S. Interior Department excluded crucial requirements in their decision process, including a "two-part determination" requirement for consultation with local officials and concurrence by the governor.

Koi Nation Casino Update | Three More Tribes Sue Fed's Decision

February 27, 2025

A new lawsuit has been filed by three California tribes against the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) for its decision to approve the Shiloh Resort Casino proposed by the Koi Nation in Sonoma County. The lawsuit follows a similar one filed last week by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

This lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week by the Lytton Rancheria, owners of the San Pablo Lytton Casino in San Pablo, the Dry Creek Rancheria, owners of the River Rock Casino in Geyserville, and the Cloverdale Rancheria owners of the future Cloverdale Rancheria Resort Casino in Cloverdale. The tribes claim the DOI did not adequately consult with the tribes about their ancestral history to the Koi casino land, and the DOI failed tp produce a proper environmental impact report before the final decision was made.

The lawsuit is seeking to nullify the decision made by the former Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland of the Biden Administration and hopes for a favorable reconsideration by the new Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum of the Trump administration.

Graton Sues Feds to Stop New Shiloh Casino in Sonoma County

February 24, 2025

Graton Rancheria has extended its legal fight against the development of the Koi Nation casino outside Windsor by suing the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) last week in an effort to reverse the federal approval of the project.

On Jan. 13, 2025 the DOI approved the Koi Nation plan to build a $600 million casino resort, named Shiloh Resort and Casino, on a 68-acre site located within 15 miles of Graton Resort and Casino. The new casino will total 1.2 million square feet with a casino featuring 2,600 slot machines, six restaurants, a hotel with 400 rooms and a luxury spa, and a conference center.

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria filed its lawsuit on Feb. 14 in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. The suit targets the new DOI secretary, Doug Burgum, who recently replaced Deb Haaland, and other new DOJ officials, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria continues to fight to reverse the previous Interior Department's rushed, illegal approval of the Koi Nations' proposed casino on our tribe's sacred ancestral lands."

- Greg Sarris, Chairman Graton Rancheria

Graton claims the DOI violated their tribal rights and federal laws while conducting a flawed review of ancestral history, and writing a weak environmental impact statement (EIS) with adequate evaluation of wildfire risks, air quality, water, traffic, and other important factors.

Shiloh Resort Casino | Chickasaw Nation Partnership

January 25, 2025

The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma is the Koi Nation partner for the development and operational management of the future Shiloh Resort Casino in Sonoma County, California.

The Chickasaw Nation owns and operates more than 20 casinos in Oklahoma. The largest is WinStar World Casino and Resort, which is the largest in the world. Winstar is a 400,000-square-foot casino complex with 10,500 slot machines, 100 table games, 55 poker tables, an 800-seat bingo hall, 17 restaurants, the Lucas Oil Live entertainment center and a championship golf course.

In 2008. the Chickasaw Nation created a new enterprise named Global Gaming Solutions (GGS), to invest in gaming, racing, and entertainment. In 2022, the Koi Nation selected GGD as its development partner for the Shiloh Resort Casino.

The Koi Nation cited the Chickasaw Nation's "broad range of commercial expertise" for its decision for the partnership.

"Not only does the Chickasaw Nation have great expertise in gaming and resorts, but they also share the same values as the Koi Nation.

"Chickasaw leaders understand the importance of this project to the restoration of our economic self-reliance because they have walked the same path many times in support of their own people's future."

- Dino Beltran, Koi Nation Vice Chair and Director of Development

In a joint press release at that time, a spokesperson for Global Gaming Solutions added the following statement:

"It will be a great honor for GGS to assist the Koi in construction and management of the Shiloh Resort & Casino to be located just outside the city limits of Windsor, California. The design for the low-rise facility integrates with the natural beauty of the site and will be energy-efficient and respectful of the environment, in keeping with the Tribe's historic relationship with the land."

- Kym Koch Thompson, GGS Spokesperson

What are the next steps in the development of the Shiloh Resort Casino? We need more details about the project and details about the construction timeline.

Koi Nation | Feds approve Shiloh Resort Casino in Sonoma County

January 14, 2025

On Monday the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) approved the Koi Nation plan to build a $600 million casino, named Shiloh Resort & Casino, near the small town of Windsor in Sonoma County. The Department then issued a Record of Decision to transfer 68 acres of vineyard owned by the tribe into federal trust as the site for the future Shiloh casino.

The approval was a controversial decision for the federal government. Several Northern California tribes opposed the Koi Nation casino project. Graton Rancheria, which owns the nearby Graton Resort Casino. filed an 11th-hour lawsuit in late Dec. 2024 against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in an effort to stop the federal approval process. A federal judge agreed to issue a temporary restraining order against the DOI on Dec 20th. Last Friday, a U.S. District Court judge vacated the temporary restraining order, and the DOJ moved forward with its approval.

"Today represents a historic moment of opportunity and justice for the Koi Nation. The government's approval fills our hearts with promise and hope. The Koi Nation has been afforded for the first time in over a century a real opportunity to build a sovereign land base that will provide economic development, self-governance, and a bright future for current and future generations of our tribal citizens."

- Darin Beltran, Koi Nation Tribal Council Chairman

Shiloh Resort & Casino will total 1.2 million square feet and be managed by the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation owns and operates 10 casinos in Oklahoma including the world's largest casino, WinStar World Casino and Resort.

Koi Nation Casino | Judge Revokes Land Trust

October 6, 2025

The Koi Nation's plan to build a $600 casino resort in Sonoma Count was dealt a devastating blow in federal court this week when the judge revoked the trust status for the land.

Last January the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the tribe's plans to build the $600 million Shiloh Resort & Casino and transferred a 68-acre building site near Windsor into federal trust. The trust status gave the Koi Nation sovereignty rights over that land including the right to operate the casino without interference from the state or local governments.

The court ruling was a tremendous win for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR), which owns the Graton Resort and Casino located only 15 miles south of the Koi Nation casino site. (news story)

The Graton Rancheria (FIGR) filed the lawsuit against the Department of Interior (DOI) for approving the Koi Nation casino. Graton challenged the ancestral ties of the KOI Nation to the Sonoma land and claimed the DOI failed the perform due diligence in its decision process by not adequately consulting with other tribes.

District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California agreed with the Graton Rancheria. On September 22, 2025 the judge issued an order for the Department of the Interior to vacate the trust status for the Koi Nation land.

The court action removes the 68-acre site from federal trust and indefinitely halts the casino plans of the Koi Nation.