People Against a Casino Town
News of Interest
Opposition to casino in Ontario, Oregon
(Webkeeper's note:  also see: Formula for a casino)
  • 03/06/07 - House Bill 2461 - Land Use Laundering -   House Bill 2461 - Sponsored by Ontario's House Representative Tom Butler - SUMMARY - Authorizes city or district providing urban services within
    urban growth boundary to extend services to land within jurisdiction of federally recognized Indian tribe. (Public Hearing March 6, 2007) http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/hb2400.dir/hb2461.intro.html

    Editor's note: It appears provisions of HB 2461 would not be limited to official 'reservation' lands, it would also include: ANY property owned or purchased by a tribe (not just land held "in trust"), ANY tribe (even tribes from other state), and be applicable to ANY property within a 3-mile radius of ANY city in Oregon (not just on reservation land or near casinos.)   Also see a seemingly prescient January 2007 commentary about Land Use
    Laundering: http://www.pactoregon.org/news-070131-landuselaundering.html

  • 11/27/06 - Threat of casino in Ontario, Oregon - The Burns Paiute Tribe obtained support of Malheur County and Ontario city leaders last week for its proposed plan to build a resort/casino/convention center in the Ontario area.

  • 06/04/06 - Casino process proves to be a lengthy endeavor  - The Bureau of Indian Affairs confirmed the tribe filed a letter of intent to submit an application to establish a casino in Malheur County. The application sets about 42 acres in the Ontario area to be put into trust with the federal government.  There is an effort by the Land Rights Network, American Land Rights Association and the Alliance Against Reservation Shopping, headquartered in Battle Ground, Wash., to change the proposed deadline of new casino applications to April 15. The three organizations said in a news release that United States Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, promised if there was a large increase in casino applications after March 29, he would reset the deadline to March 29.  That would leave the Burns-Paiute Tribe out since it filed its letter of intent April 13, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesperson said.

  • 05/17/06 - Finding ‘facts' on casino - Scott Trainor City Scene - As entertaining as it can be to speculate on an issue - and I do have to admit that with the current rumors of a tribal casino I have done my fair share of speculating - one thing that I have learned is that sometimes those speculations take on a life of their own and, in some minds, can become unarguable “facts.”
    With that in mind, and considering the persistent speculations and rumors circulating relative to the possibility of a tribal casino locating in or near Ontario, I thought it would be appropriate to share the minimal extent of our knowledge. To quote Sergeant Schultz, from Hogan's Heroes: “I know nothing!” Actually, the truth is that we know very little, but I'll share some background to better illustrate that lack of information.
    In early 2004, the city was approached by members of the Burns-Paiute tribe to discuss a non-casino business venture that they were considering at that time. Ultimately, discussions on that venture dwindled, and the project never came to fruition. However, at that time the concept of some sort of gaming establishment was broached informally and the response from the city was that - as with most development-related issues - the council would be supportive of the tribe bringing the concept up in the public realm for discussion and was looking forward to obtaining any hard information on the concept.
    One year of silence went by and the concept was, again, informally raised with our council, and the response was virtually identical - support for getting us real information and bringing the concept to the community for discussions.
    Again, another year of silence followed and in the early part of this year, the concept was again raised on an informal basis by various tribal representatives. Again, no concrete information was provided and so, consequently, the council's stance was to be open to the process of bringing the concept to the public realm, but with a lack of any hard data relative to the casino itself, the council had nothing to base any decisions on.
    As one can see, there's truly not a lot of information to be had relative to the idea of a casino locating here in Ontario.
    Currently, rumors abound that a casino is coming and that properties have been or are being purchased to site that facility on. Based on the interest caused by these rumors, the city contacted the tribe directly to ascertain whether or not there was any truth to these rumors. The Burns-Paiute tribe's reply was that “the tribe will make an announcement in the next couple of weeks.” That limited response was provided in the second week of April and was immediately shared with the Argus Observer with the intent of keeping them keyed in on this important issue. To date, no announcement has been made, and the city is in the dark, much like the rest of our citizenry.
    Sometimes fact isn't as exciting as fiction but, unfortunately, facts are hard to come by on this issue. Until we have them, we'll sit with the rest of the public - asking ourselves “what if” questions and speculating on the pros and cons of having a venture like a casino in our community. - Scott Trainor is the Ontario City Manager.

  • 05/12/06 - Tribe Files to Build Treasure Valley Casino - ONTARIO - The Treasure Valley could become home to casino-style gambling-- possibly bringing hundreds of jobs to Ontario, Oregon.  The Burns Paiute tribe has applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to build a casino off the reservation. Friday afternoon CBS 2 News got confirmation from the Oregon Governor's Office and the BIA: there is definitely a plan in the works.  The tribe hasn't purchased the land yet, but the casino could be located just outside Ontario city limits where survey crews are already working on plans to build a cloverleaf near a new Interstate 84 exchange. As a county judge, a position similar to a county commission seat in Idaho, Russ Hursh says he started talking to tribal members from three tribes about the plans more than three years ago.  It is one of two proposed casinos in Oregon that would not be located on the actual reservation. Right now Oregon has nine casinos--all on tribal land.  But even with initial paperwork filed, working through the approval process could take years. The tribes involved have to deal with any objections from the community and other tribes they may be competing with-- then the Oregon Governor must sign off on the deal. Finally, the Interior Secretary must approve the deal-- and if he's confirmed that means Governor Dirk Kempthorne could have the final say on the deal.
  • 05/10/06 - Casino tribes rush to the betting window - In the end, the more than 20 tribes around the nation that raced to beat an April 15 deadline to apply for off-reservation casinos will succeed only in proving the point that it's time to rein in the $19 billion tribal gaming industry. (Wednesday, 5/10/2006, The Oregonian)

  • 05/05/06 - Tribe files letter of intent for Ontario casino - The Burns Paiute Tribe has submitted a resolution and a letter of intent to deliver an application to put a piece of land in the Ontario area in trust with the federal government for the purpose of gaming.

  • 05/06/06 - OR Tribes hope for two off-reservation casinos - Two Oregon tribes have applied to build off-reservation casinos, one near Ontario and one near Wilsonville. Members of the Burns Paiute tribe said Thursday that few details were available about the Ontario proposal.   Burns Paiute Tribal Chairman Dean Adams and a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokeswoman in Washington confirmed that the tribe headquartered in Burns has made a formal application to the BIA.
  • 05/05/06 - OR casino tribes stake their claims to casinos - The KlamathTribes, like more than 20 other tribes nationwide racing to get a jump on proposed federal rules, has filed an application to build a casino near a golf course south of Wilsonville. (Friday, 5/05/2006, The Oregonian)
  • 04/16/06 - Off-Reservation Casino for Ontario, Oregon? - While rumors and speculation have swirled around the casino issue for a number of months locally, one former elected leader said he has been aware of a plan by the Burns Paiute tribe for a gaming facility for some time.  Malheur County Judge Dan Joyce said the casino issue was brought up during a recent conference of the National Association of Counties (NACO) in Washington, D.C.  “We've known about that (a gaming facility) for three years,” former Malheur County Judge Russ Hursh said Friday.  (04/16/06 - Area officials sound off on proposed casino)
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