Thread: CA--Manzanita tribe wants casino land as its own

What affect would this have on border crossings?

Manzanita tribe wants casino land as its own

By Onell R. Soto
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 31, 2008

CALEXICO – A San Diego County tribe's hopes for a casino and a border town's yearning for prosperity are bound in an empty field on a highway leading to Mexico.
The Manzanita Band of Mission Indians is asking the federal government to add 61 acres in Calexico to its lands.

The property, in the middle of a proposed development of stores, restaurants and office space, would be the site of a 2,000-slot casino, a 260-room hotel and other amenities.

The 105-member tribe says a casino is not economically viable at its remote reservation about 50 miles west – in the mountains near Boulevard, where dirt roads lead to small, modular homes.



AdvertisementFew tribes have succeeded in setting up off-reservation casinos. Despite support from local officials and backing from the successful Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, the Manzanita Band's proposal faces opposition from people worried about crime, traffic and other issues.
Calexico voters approved the idea in 2005, and local business boosters and politicians are bullish on the project's prospects to create 2,400 jobs and generate millions of dollars for local education and government services.

“People are hungry for jobs here,â€

105 members of the tribe......wow....guess that's one way to get rich.