By Paul Giblin
The Arizona Republic
Tohono O’odham Nation leaders were secretly developing plans to acquire land for a casino near Glendale in the early 2000s, a time when they and leaders from other tribes promised state officials they would limit the number of casinos near metropolitan areas, according to a court filing by the state and two other tribes.
Attorney General Tom Horne and the Valley tribes had filed suit to stop the casino nearly two years ago. They noted that the Tohono O’odhams had bought the land less than a year after voters in 2002 approved Proposition 202, which laid the framework for the state gaming compact with tribes.
The latest filing in the case, which came late Monday in U.S. District Court, used depositions from former state and Tohono O’odham officials, as well as old minutes from tribal meetings, to argue that the tribe had planned to acquire Phoenix-area land for a casino well before the passage of Prop. 202.
Opponents asked the court to bar a casino on the land.
Both sides are expected to file responses in March before the court decides on the matter, or if it moves to trial.
Note: RLG represents Arizona House and Senate leadership in the litigation to oppose the proposed casino project.
