Casino news source: Tucson Citizen - http://www.tucsoncitizen.com
Navajos trying to kick-start plans for tribe's first casinos
By FELICIA FONSECA
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE - The Navajo Nation's LeChee Chapter in Arizona would be an ideal site for a large-scale casino operation because of the number of tourists who visit the area each year, Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. said.
But the largely Christian community has not come out in support of gaming in the area, and Shirley told tribal council delegates in a memo Wednesday that he would not go forward with development without a strong backing.
The area, identified in a 2005 study as one of six potential Navajo gaming sites, is a popular stopover point for bus tours and travelers to the Glen Canyon Recreation Area and Lake Powell.
Shirley sent the memo to delegates a day before a majority of them gave his office an ultimatum: provide a comprehensive gaming plan and a timeline or tribal laws would be amended to speed up the establishment of gambling.
Delegate Leonard Tsosie said the memo gave the council limited information. What delegates are looking for, he said, are financial packages and land clearances and whether the president has talked with Arizona and New Mexico state officials and the Indian Gaming Commission to make sure the Navajo Nation is complying with gaming compacts.
Most of all, he said, delegates "want to know when the handle on the first slot machine is going to be thrown."
Shirley told the council the Navajo Nation controller is obtaining terms from lending agencies to get the best financing possible for the development. The tribe also is negotiating an agreement with a developer that can finance construction and gaming management, he said.
On Thursday, Shirley named Church Rock, near Gallup, for the tribe's first casino and said it would be built within six months.
Although the area has easy access to Interstate 40, the study recommended a small casino because of the large number of gambling facilities west of and within Albuquerque.
Shirley said the tribe also is moving ahead with plans for casinos near Farmington and three others in Arizona - Leupp or Cameron, Nahata Dzill and Shirley's hometown, Chinle.
The tribal council already has approved a local gaming enterprise for the Tse' Daa' Kaan Chapter near Farmington, but the Navajo Nation Gaming Ordinance makes it impossible for multiple gaming enterprises to obtain the licenses to operate, the Navajo attorney general and the legislative counsel have said.
Cameron chapters were recommended for casinos because of the large number of tourists who visit the areas each year, Shirley said.
Nearly 2 million people visit Canyon de Chelly National Monument near Chinle each year, said the study, which recommended a small to mid-size casino in the area. |
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