Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino To Reopen In 2016
The Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino which is run by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians have been fighting hard to meet all the requirements of the National Indian Gaming Commission to get permission to open its doors to the public once again.
The Chukchansi casino which is located on Coarsegold had to earlier shutdown operators as it violated a number of rules laid down by the commission. The tribe had also accumulated significant amounts of debt and was struggling to make payments. A total of $250 million in debt was absorbed by the tribe’s bondholders in 2012 and is on a payment plan which requires the tribe to pay $12 million per year in two installments. The tribe has been unable to make any payments since September 2014.
The tribe was hit with a $19.8 million fine for violating audit stipulations and was forced to shutdown operations. Things are looking a little brighter for tribal authorities as the tribal gaming commission have confirmed that they are willing to suspend the majority of those fines if the casino was willing to cooperate with them. Bondholders have successfully raised around $35 million in 2015 to help the casino raise sufficient funds to re-launch the casino resort.
The payment plan for the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is broken down into three $500,000 installments which need to be remitted to the federal government. Once this is completed, a $250,000 repayment must be made within a 30 day period, $125,000 in 180 days and a final $125,000 can be paid after 360 days. The commission is willing to drop all fines that are outstanding from the $19.3 million fine and will also waive all outstanding fines if the tribe operates without any complaints during the next 36 months.
In a statement, Claudia Gonzales, the tribal chairwoman said
I think it’s just a wonderful day for all Chukchansi and their families. It’s good for the employees, especially during the holiday season. We will know more in the next couple of days. We look forward to welcoming back the community.
The tribe is expected to open the casino during the early part of 2016 as most of the pre-launch work has already been completed and casino workers have already been trained and prepared for the 2016 launch. The casino provides full time employment to over 1,000 employees from Madera County and the county is eager for the casino to open its doors at the earliest.
