A shuttered casino in the hills near Coarsegold may come back to life this spring. FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports.
A little more than a year ago the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino was forced to close its doors after a violent takeover. Today, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians reached a settlement with the National Indian Gaming Commission. Claudia Gonzalez is on the tribal council.
GONZALEZ: “We’re one tribe, we’re looking to move forward in a positive way and we’re in the middle of a healing process."
To reopen, the tribe must pay almost $20 million in fines for not submitting audits in a timely manner. Also a federal judge will have to lift the closure order. Doris Jones is also on the council.
JONES: “We’re trying to make all our employees whole, along with tribal members and the community by reopening as soon as possible.”
A reopening date isn’t set, but the tribe hopes to hire around 1,000 people by the time it opens.
