Scotts Valley Tribe to Sue After DOI Revokes California Casino Approval

The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians has said it will challenge a decision by the US Department of the Interior (DOI) withdrawing the gaming eligibility determination for the tribe’s trust land in Vallejo, Calif.

Friday’s reversal came just days after the tribe opened a class II “preview” casino on the 160-acre site, which it hoped would be a forerunner to a long-planned $700 million casino at the gateway to California’s wine country. The decision effectively strips the tribe of its right to offer gaming on the land unless it is overturned on appeal.

The proposed eight‑story casino would have included restaurants, bars, a ballroom, 24 tribal homes, an administration building, and a 45‑acre biological preserve. It would have been the tribe’s first casino, part of a wider economic development strategy aimed at generating jobs, housing, and long-term revenue for tribal members.

Historical Connection Questioned

The DOI found that the tribe did not meet the “restored lands” exception under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This allows certain federally restored tribes to operate casinos on lands returned to them after regaining federal recognition, provided they meet certain conditions, such as that they can demonstrate ancestral ties to the land.

The DOI concluded the Scotts Valley Band had not “established a significant historical connection” to the Vallejo site, reversing the Biden administration’s determination that the land qualified for gaming under the restored lands exception.

The new decision will please several tribes in the area who challenged the Scotts Valley casino in the courts.

Cache Creek Casino operator the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, both Patwin tribes, argued the Vallejo site lies within their ancestral homeland rather than that of the Pomo people and that the federal government improperly approved the gaming determination. They have accused the Scotts Valley Band of “reservation shopping.”

The United Auburn Indian Community, which operates the Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento, filed a separate lawsuit, arguing the DOI’s initial approval was flawed and that the agency had failed to consult affected local tribes.

‘Politically Motivated’

The Scotts Valley Band has previously claimed the DOI’s decision to reconsider its gaming eligibility was not a lawful administrative reconsideration, but “an unlawful and politically motivated campaign,” engineered by Yocha Dehe Wintun lobbyists.

In a statement to Tribal Business News, Scotts Valley Band Chairman Shawn Davis said the administrative record “overwhelmingly supports the tribe’s gaming eligibility” and vowed to challenge the decision in federal court.

The tribe also said it had temporarily suspended gaming operations at its preview casino while it pursues legal action.