Shoshone-Paiute Tribe Partners with Coeur d’Alene for Idaho Casino Project

• Sho-Pai has acquired 557 acres in Idaho’s Treasure Valley for a proposed casino project
• The Coeur d’Alene Tribe will provide investment and manage the casino if built
• Sho-Ban also wants to build a casino in the region

Idaho’s only federally recognized nongaming tribe is partnering with the Coeur d’Alene as it seeks to realize its long-cherished ambition to build a casino in the state’s Treasure Valley, which includes Boise.

The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation (Sho-Pai) have been trying to develop a casino since the 1990s. On Tuesday, the tribe announced via a press release it had purchased 557 acres straddling Elmore and Ada counties between the cities of Mountain Home and Boise.

The partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe involves a large upfront investment from the latter, which owns and operates the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel in the state. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe would also manage a future casino for the Sho-Pai.

‘No Opportunities’

The Sho-Pai’s reservation is located in a remote area on the border between Idaho and Nevada, with tribal headquarters situated in the small town of Owyhee, Nev. Because the proposed casino would be built off reservation, the project requires approval from the federal government, county officials, and Idaho Governor Brad Little (R).

The tribe says the casino would help to address high rates of poverty, unemployment, and suicide among tribal members while funding emergency services on the reservation. Currently, 911 calls can take up to two hours for a response because of Duck Valley’s remoteness.

I dream of a future where our members have the resources, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities they need to care for their families and preserve our way of life,” Sho-Pai chairman Brian Mason said in the press release. “A future where our children have hope and believe the best days are still ahead of them.

“Today, we have no meaningful economic opportunities, and our community is facing some heavy challenges because of it,” he added. “We want to solve our own problems and provide for our people. Tribal gaming will allow us to make these dreams into a reality.”

Sho-Ban Competition

The Sho-Pai aren’t the only tribe with designs on the populous Treasure Valley region.

Last year, Mason wrote to the Interior Department in opposition to the project, noting that while his tribe has no casinos, the Sho-Ban already has three.