A significant project
Tribal groups in Oklahoma and California have partnered to develop a new casino. The Koi Nation of Northern California announced on Monday that it has signed a predevelopment agreement with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma’s Global Gaming Solutions (GGS) subsidiary.
The planned Shiloh Casino & Resort is set to be built in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. GGS will manage and operate the casino.
The project is expected to create over 1,100 full-time jobs.
The facility will have 2,500 gaming machines, a 200-room hotel, six food service areas, restaurants, a spa, and a meeting center. The project is expected to create over 1,100 full-time jobs.
Two tribes working together
Speaking about entering this predevelopment agreement was the Koi Nation tribal chair Darin Beltran, who lauded the building of an “important business relationship with our brothers and sisters of the Chickasaw Nation, one of the most experienced Native American tribes in the gaming industry.”
Koi Nation vice-chair Dino Beltran said that both tribes share the same values and that the Chickasaw leaders know how important this casino project will be to help with the restoration of the tribe’s “economic self-reliance.”
Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby also welcomed this agreement, stating that the tribe looking forward to having a successful collaboration with the Koi Nation. He looks forward to seeing the creation of new jobs, more tourism in the region, and the opening of new businesses.
Getting the idea off the ground
Koi Nation is an economically disadvantaged tribe of only about 90 members. It came as a surprise to many when the tribe announced in September that it had bought a 68-acre property for $12.3m in Shiloh for a casino project. The plan received instant opposition from the neighboring Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria who already operate a casino in the area.
A number of other tribes were also hoping to partner with the Koi Nation on this project before the Chickasaw Nation was selected. In order to gauge if the project was a good idea, the Chickasaw Nation ran a model to see if there was sufficient demand in the area for a casino of that size. The results showed that it is a viable idea. This will not be the first time that the Chickasaw Nation will help with the operation of another tribe’s gaming facility; it is the current manager of the Shawnee Nation’s Golden Mesa Casino in Oklahoma.