By Josh Coddington | Arizona Capitol Times
Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. left no doubt during a press conference today that his tribe believes it has the authority to continue building and eventually operate its $400 million West Valley casino, despite the Arizona Department of Gaming’s declaration that it will work to block the project.
Spurred by an April 17 letter from Gaming Director Dan Bergin asserting the agency’s power to stop the casino from opening and accusing the Southern Arizona-based tribe of using fraud and concealment to bring the project to fruition, Norris stood on the 135-acre casino site near Northern and 95th avenues to deliver the message that the tribe “will not be deterred” from completing and operating the facility.
“We are prepared to continue to commit resources to get this done,” Norris said. “My nation is not going to defer from its position. We will continue to move forward.”