Chukchansi tribe files new lawsuit in bid to block North Fork casino opening
The project is scheduled to open in October after more than two decades of planning and legal challenges.
US.- The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians has filed a new federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the North Fork Mono Casino & Resort from opening in Madera County, California. It’s the tribe’s third federal legal challenge against the neighbouring North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians over the project.
Located less than 40 miles from Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort, the North Fork casino is nearing completion and scheduled to open in October. Picayune argues that the new property’s location near Highway 99 would provide it with an unfair competitive advantage over its casino, which is located in the foothills off Highway 41.
The lawsuit maintains that the project cannot legally operate because, while it received federal approval, California courts have invalidated the state’s authorisation. According to Picayune, both federal and state approval are required for gaming to proceed on the site.
The North Fork project has faced opposition for years, partly because it’s being developed more than 30 miles from the tribe’s original rancheria. The federal government determined in 2011 that the tribe had ancestral ties to the Highway 99 site and later placed the land into federal trust. Former Governor Jerry Brown subsequently supported the project and signed a tribal-state gaming compact. However, California voters rejected that compact in a 2014 ballot initiative, and state courts later ruled that the vote nullified the state’s authorisation.
North Fork and casino operator Station Casinos have asked the court to dismiss the new lawsuit. The tribe argues that Picayune has already raised similar claims in previous litigation and that federal courts have repeatedly upheld its right to operate gaming on the land.
The casino project was first proposed in 2003, but construction only began in 2024 following years of litigation and regulatory delays. The 264,000-square-foot facility is expected to create more than 1,500 jobs in Madera County.
