Construction of massive Madera casino will continue despite new ruling, tribe says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State judges rule approval of North Fork casino in Madera voided by voters in 2014.
- North Fork Rancheria says its project has federal approvals.
- The tribe asserts the Madera casino will open this year after breaking ground in 2024.
The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California says it will continue construction of its massive casino off Highway 99 in Madera County even as a state supreme court ruling has cast further uncertainty over the casino’s opening.
The Supreme Court of California earlier this month declined to review a lower court’s ruling against the construction and operation of the sprawling North Fork Mono Casino and Resort in Madera County.
The state Supreme Court’s decision means the December ruling by a panel of Fresno appellate judges stands: The casino is not authorized by the state of California. However, it’s unclear whether that decision will actually stop the casino from opening.
In a statement, the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California said its plans have federal approval and signaled that construction will not stop on its 100,000-square-foot casino complex off Highway 99. The land the casino is located on has been held in a federal trust for North Fork’s planned gaming operation since 2012.
“The North Fork Rancheria’s right to game on its federal trust land near Madera, CA is governed exclusively by federal law. Federal approvals of the North Fork project occurred in 2012 and 2016 and the federal courts have since upheld each approval in final, non-appealable decisions,” the tribe said in a statement.
“North Fork will continue to comply with all applicable law as it proceeds with construction of its project to benefit the regional economy and the lives of its more than 3000 tribal citizens.”
The North Fork casino has received multiple approvals that have been repeatedly challenged since the tribe began planning the game house in 2003. One of the new casino’s main opponents has been the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, which operates the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino off Highway 41.
Picayune Chukchansi has argued in court that the North Fork casino’s original state approval was voided in 2014 as California voters rejected the Madera casino in a statewide election. A Madera County trial court in 2024 agreed, as did the state’s appellate court in Fresno last December.
Despite the recent rulings, North Fork has said it still plans to open the casino this year. Since it broke ground in 2024, Madera County leaders have touted the casino as an engine for economic growth, hopeful it will generate new jobs and spending in the county.
The tribe’s leadership has said the casino has the potential to add 1,000 jobs to Madera County. The casino will feature more than 2,400 slot machines, 40 table games and eight dining options.
Fresno judges rule against Madera casino, tribe points out federal authorization
Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval of the North Fork casino in 2012 came after the U.S. Department of Interior determined in 2011 it was OK for the tribe to build the game house on 305 acres just north of the city of Madera.
Though it’s more than 30 miles from the tribe’s 80-acre rancheria in the Madera County mountains, the federal government determined the tribe has ancestral ties to its casino site off Highway 99. Lawsuits followed as anti-gaming groups launched accusations of “reservation shopping,” but Gov. Brown agreed with the federal government and signed a tribal-state deal allowing the casino.
California residents in 2014 voted in opposition of the Madera casino in a state proposition. Two years later, Picayune Chukchansi sued Brown in Madera County, arguing his “concurrence” with the federal decision to allow the North Fork casino was void from the beginning.
A trial court and the appellate court in Fresno sided with Picayune Chukchansi in subsequent years. The North Fork tribe notes that its federal approvals have been upheld in federal court multiple times.
A federal court in 2016 ruled against the casino’s opponents as they challenged its authorization by the Department of Interior. U.S. District Beryl Howell said then that, though the casino opponents had valid concerns, “the law is not on their side.”
In 2024, federal government also approved the casino’s management agreement.
Even since the December ruling against the casino by the state, North Fork has continued to state it plans to open this year on social media.
“This with someone who you’re bringing when we open our doors this year!” the casino wrote last week in an Instagram post.
