Mashantucket Pequots Partner with California Tribe in $300 Million Casino Resort Development - Owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino to build and manage casino on reservation of Pauma Band of Mission Indians in San Diego County
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut and the Pauma Band of Mission Indians in California are joining hands across the continent to build a $300 million dollar casino on the Pauma Bands reservation north of San Diego. We are fortunate to have the financial resources and gaming expertise to help other tribal communities to achieve economic self sufficiency, said Michael Thomas, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequots. This agreement is about Native solidarity. Its also about Native peoples reaching out to build solid tribal economies.
The Pequots Foxwoods Development Company will oversee the project that includes a proposed 500-room hotel, 2,000 slot machines and 50 gaming tables. In addition, the gaming resort will include an entertainment venue, retail stores, and a variety of restaurants, from fast-food eateries to fine dining establishments. Our reasons for partnering with the Pequots on this project involves more than the fact that they bring with them a spectacularly successful track record with their own gaming enterprise in Connecticut, said Pauma Chairman Chris Devers. The Pequots respect Native sovereignty and have a long history of struggle and perseverance, and we can relate to that.
Pre-development work will begin immediately, and that will include negotiation of an agreement with the County of San Diego to address off-site impacts, including the question of traffic, said Gary Armentrout, the chief development officer of Foxwoods Development Company.
Pedro Johnson, chairman of the Foxwoods Development Company Board of Directors, expressed his appreciation to all who negotiated this agreement. As a tribal elder I know the importance of bringing two tribes together on important projects such as this, he said. We always welcome the opportunity to partner with another tribe, and we look forward to sharing the expertise we have gained by operating Foxwoods.
The new casino resort, which has yet to be named, will replace a smaller facility on the Pauma Bands reservation some 50 miles north of the city of San Diego. The existing casino will remain open during construction, and will close upon completion of the newer and enlarged casino adjacent to the existing facility. Construction is scheduled to begin upon completion of talks with the County of San Diego. The casino is expected to take 24 months to complete, with an opening planned for the spring of 2009.
About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation: Federally recognized since 1983, the Tribal Nation has deep roots in the Connecticut soil. In 1637 English Colonists waged what historians have described as a war of genocide against the powerful Pequot nation, killing hundreds of men, women and children in a massacre at Mystic in 1637. Long consigned to the margins of society, the Mashantucket Pequots have persevered through the centuries and maintained a presence on what remained of their land. With the opening of Foxwoods in 1992, the tribe quickly claimed a preeminent position in the gaming industry. Today, in addition to the gaming resort, the tribe operates championship golf courses and other hospitality businesses, as well as the largest tribally owned museum devoted to Native peoples in the United States.
About the Pauma Band of Mission Indians: Federally recognized since 1892, the Pauma Band is one of seven Bands of the Luiseno people located in San Diego and Riverside counties with a history that goes back thousands of years. Tribal lands of the Pauma Band consist of 4 parcels of land equaling approximately 5,800 acres. In 1985, Pauma began its agriculture project with 5 acres of Hass avocados. Currently, Pauma produces Hass avocados, Valencia oranges and lemons on approximately 60 acres. In 2001, Pauma opened Casino Pauma which brought employment opportunities to the Pauma people and growth to the Pauma government.