Friday, February 17, 2012

Colusa Tribe OPPOSES Enterprise Rancheria; But Not for the Right Reasons

They are more worried about losing business than a tribe that has violated the civil and human rights of their people get a lucrative casino.


The tribe behind the Colusa Casino, the Cachill Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown's office this week stating their casino would lose at least 40 percent and as much as 60 percent of their business if the Yuba County casino opens.

Their analysis was based on what happened when Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln opened in 2004 and caused Colusa Casino's revenues to drop by 23 percent, even though it's further away and offers something different, according to the letter.

We wrote about the Enterprise Rancheria Abuses HERE:

former members of Enterprise Rancheria protested in front of the tribal office Saturday, while one disenrolled member waited for an appeals hearing at the Palermo Grange.

In November 2003, the Enterprise Rancheria booted 70 tribal members who questioned the way the tribal council spent a human services fund, according to Robert Edwards, a disenrolled member. Later two more tribal members were disenrolled.

Saturday, the Enterprise Tribal Council held an appeals hearing at Palermo Grange to decide if one disenrolled member, Rick Wilson, could return to tribal rolls.

"Everything they did there was a farce," Edwards said. "It was another kangaroo court."

"Unlike Thunder Valley, it is our understanding that the proposed Enterprise casino would provide a similar gaming experience to Colusa's," the letter states.

In such a scenario, there'd also be a ripple effect on the city and county of Colusa because the tribe spends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on local vendors, the tribe states. Losing business would also result in layoffs of casino employees.

"While the State might offset its loss of sales tax revenues in Colusa County with gains in other jurisdictions, the City and County of Colusa would have no possibility of regaining those lost revenues," the letter states.

No comments: