Vallejo Approves Controversial Tribal Casino Despite Federal Review

• Vallejo backs preview casino despite ongoing federal eligibility review
  
• Local tribes challenge land claim and allege flawed federal approval
  
• Temporary casino to proceed while $700m resort faces uncertainty

The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians has received a rubberstamp from the city of Vallejo, Calif., for a “preview casino” on tribal trust land within the city limits.

The two parties agreed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the casino this week, despite uncertainty surrounding the project, which was signed off by the outgoing Biden administration in January 2025.

The Trump administration is in the process of reviewing whether the tribe is eligible for gaming on the site, which could jeopardize its ultimate goal: a $700 million casino resort with restaurants, a hotel and spa, and a family entertainment center.

The tribe has vowed to press on regardless with its temporary casino, which will be housed in existing modular buildings on the site and host class II gaming machines.

Under the MOU, the city will provide temporary water, police, and fire services, as well as oversee permits for the tribe’s interim site.

The tribe will cover all costs – $602,000 in the first year and $502,000 annually after – including funding a police position, paying fees and water charges, maintaining 24/7 security, and contributing to traffic, infrastructure, and community programs.

Ancestral Ties Disputed

In the meantime, the tribe will await the federal government’s decision on its right to operate gaming on the Vallejo plot under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The Department of the Interior reversed the initial decision in March 2025 and has indicated the initial approval may have been an error following legal pushback from several local tribes.

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Kletsel Dehe Band of Wintun Indians, and the United Auburn Indian Community claim the Scotts Valley Band has misrepresented its historical connection to land in Vallejo.

They further allege that the original decision to approve the application was “arbitrary, capricious, and illegal,” and influenced by political considerations. They also argue that federal officials failed to properly consult tribes that would be affected by the decision.

‘Commercially Motivated’

The Scotts Valley Band has called the legal challenges commercially motivated and “anticompetitive” because two of the opposing tribes operate competing casinos in the region.

The Scotts Valley Band is based roughly 100 miles away in Mendocino County. Its original reservation, the Sugar Bowl Rancheria in Lake County, was terminated in 1965 under the federal government’s wider termination policy.

Although the tribe regained federal recognition in 1991, it remained without a formal reservation until the Vallejo land was taken into trust.