Las Vegas-based Station Casinos and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians this week broke ground on their joint Tribal California casino project.
Construction has now begun on the North Fork Mono Casino & Resort in Madera, California. The North Fork Rancheria will own the casino, which is on Tribal land around 25 miles north of Fresno. However, it will be operated and maintained by Station Casinos.
The project faced long legal delays since it was first suggested in 2001. It went through various courts and agencies to certify the rights of the North Fork Rancheria to open a Tribal casino.
Hundreds of local dignitaries and representatives of the North Fork Rancheria and Station Casinos attended the September 8 groundbreaking ceremony. Station is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Las Vegas locals casino resort operator Red Rock Resorts.
“Today’s groundbreaking culminates over 20 years of careful and respectful collaboration between our sovereign nation and governmental partners at all levels,” said North Fork Rancheria Tribal Chair Fred Beihn, speaking at the event.
“Today, we stand on the shoulders of many Tribal leaders who came before us, and wish to thank the numerous regional leaders who respected our cause, our approach, and our ambition to improve the quality of life for our citizens, as well as our surrounding community.”
The Casino Project
The North Fork Mono Casino Resort was first conceived in the early 2000s. Despite a pivotal decision in 2012 by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, changing governments and some local opposition kept the plan from moving forward.
Pre-construction activity began on the day of the groundbreaking ceremony. The 100,000-square-foot casino resort is set to host some 2,000 slots, 40 table games, two full-service restaurants, and six chain eateries. It will be open 24/7, 365 days a year, and will employ some 1,000 people once fully operational.
There is no firm date for opening as of yet. The project’s website says it expects to begin hiring casino workers in 2025, then will open sometime in early 2026.
Station Casinos will be handling day-to-day management of the casino for the first five years. It previously ran two other California Tribal casinos, Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Sacramento, and Graton Resort & Casino near Santa Rosa.
However both Tribes decided to take over their own operations when their contract with Station expired.
In other Las Vegas-related Tribal casino news in recent weeks, the only Tribal-operated casino in Las Vegas (for now) won a USA Today readers poll of best Las Vegas casinos.
The Palms Casino picked up the public vote award after being selected for the top 10 by a panel of Las Vegas experts. It is run by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
