Tohono O’odham Nation has built the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino near Glendale, Arizona. This on the surface is not controversial but has become just that, because of money and politics. The Tohono O’odham Nation has been through multiple courts over multiple issues since deciding to build a casino in the Glendale area. Two things remain constant out of all these court rulings and Interior reviews; Tohono O’odham Nation can have a casino in Glendale and the opposition will find another angle to fight them on it. The opposition on this issue is comprised of multiple elected officials and other Arizona Tribes that are fighting for each of their constituents. The Arizona Tribes that oppose the casino do not …show more content…
Congress was pressured by its constituents to place some types of regulations on Indian Gaming. The Indian Gaming Regulatory act was passed in 1988 to provide an economic avenue for American Indian Tribes and to satisfy the states with regulations on Indian Gaming. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act brings the state into what gaming is allowed on reservation. It separates Indian gaming into three categories; class 1 being traditional games, class 2 being non-house banked games such as bingo and poker, and class 3 being house banked games such as blackjack, roulette and slot machines. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gives tribes and states the opportunity to create a compact for class 3 gaming. Since the act has passed, many tribes have prospered along with states receiving much needed revenue for schools. Tohono O’odham Nation is one of these tribes that has benefited because of Indian …show more content…
Tohono O’odham did not agree to the provision of not having another casino in the Phoenix metro area and was honest about it in negotiations. The most recent effort by Congressman Trent Franks’ HR Bill 308 was to pass a federal law to prevent additional casinos in the Phoenix metro area also failed. The bill was call “The Keep the Promise Act.” The name of this bill and its contents were the latest attempt to prevent the already built casino from operating at full class 3 capacity. Currently the State of Arizona is preventing the casino from operating class 3 games by refusing to issue licenses to the