Big Sandy Receives 1,650 More Slots – Where Will They Put Them?

As posted last Fri, the California Gambling Control Commission was ordered to make available 10,549 slot licenses in the wake of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejection of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appeal to hold off until next August.

This week, the Big Sandy Band of Western Mono Indians in Fresno County was awarded 1,650 of the available slot licenses. Currently, the Big Sandy operates the small Mono Wind Casino near Auberry where they have 350 slots in use, but the tribe has plans for a larger Las Vegas-style casino in the foothills east of Friant.

The plans have been in limbo for a few years now though do to money restraints. The next step is getting environmental approvals from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for the casino but the tribe has yet to complete an environmental impact statement.

Fresno County officials said they have not had discussions with the tribe about the project for about 2 years.

Money is another obstacle as the state requires a "prepayment fee" of $1,250 per license that is due by Oct. 12. That adds up to more than $2 million and because of confidentiality rules it is not known if Big Sandy has made the payment.

The tribe is required to have the new slots in operation within a year so they will most likely have to find a way to squeeze them into their existing small casino.

At one point Big Sandy had a deal going with Harrah's Entertainment on a $250 million casino/hotel with 2,000 slot machines but that fell through. It is not known if a new partner has stepped in as a financial partner.

Of course this could all be moot if Schwarzenegger wins his appeal of the federal court decision which has been fast tracked to Feb of next year. If he wins all these new licenses could be revoked.