Tohono O'odham Wins Casino Battle

In 1960, the Painted Rock Dam flooded 10,000 acres of the Tohono O'odham Nation's Arizona reservation, including land that contained several villages. As compensation, the Nation could replace the flooded acreage with unincorporated land, so it secretly purchased 134 acres near Glendale in 2003 and announced plans for a Phoenix-area casino in 2009. Arizona officials resisted and refused to issue a Class III gaming license, prompting the Nation to sue in federal court and open the Desert Diamond West Valley casino with limited bingo-based machines in 2015. Under a 2017 settlement, Arizona agreed to process a full gaming license allowing blackjack, poker, and standard slot machines, while also permitting adjacent land to enter tribal trust.

Previous Fact Next Fact