Pauma Tribe to Open $300 Million Casino in 2009

California's Pauma Indian Band Tribe have joined forces with Connecticut's Mashantucket Pequot tribe to build a $300 million hotel casino. The new casino will be located beside Pauma's existing casino. The present casino will be continuing operations until the new casino opens.

Mashantucket Pequots' Foxwoods Development Co. operates the worlds largest casino, Foxwoods in Connecticut. The $300 million project theya re undertaking with the Pauma tribe includes a 500-room hotel and a casino that will house 2,000 slot machines.

At present the casino resort is not yet named. And while it might be far from being the biggest in the world, (a far cry from the Foxwoods' East Coast Gambling complex housing 7,100 slot machines and 1,400 hotel rooms) the casino will still be one of the biggest in California.

"We are fortunate to have the financial resources and gaming expertise to help other tribal communities to achieve economic self-sufficiency," said the Mashantucket Pequots tribal chairman, Michael Thomas.

"The Pequots respect Native sovereignty and have a long history of struggle and perseverance, and we can relate to that," said Pauma tribal Chairman Chris Devers.

The Pauma tribe is one of the few tribes that have signed a revised gambling contract with the state of California under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004. Under the agreement, the tribal casinos may have unlimited number of slot machines, and in exchange, they will be giving greater payments to the state. The contract also states that the tribe must first seek public opinion before pushing through with expansions.

One of the expected problems that would come with the construction of the casino is the increased traffic around the area. They also anticipate the need for more law enforcement services, as well as the increased need for fire protection.

"At this point, we can think of possible significant impacts, but we have to find out the details from them," according to tribal liaison Chantal Saipe.

Saipe also adds that county officials are set to negotiate an agreement on how the Pauma tribe will be handling the environmental impact of the new casino plan.

The joint project of the Pauma Tribe and the Pequots is expected to break ground in the spring of 2007, and is expected to open in 2009. The presence of the new Pauma casino would make the northern inland part of San Diego County California's main Indian gaming zone, with four large casinos collectively housing over 7,400 slots.

Two smaller casinos, with 349 slots each, are expected to open in 2007 on the La Jolla and Santa Ysabel reservations near Lake Henshaw.