A federal judge says the Tohono O’odham Nation’s plan to build a casino on the edge of Glendale doesn’t violate the state’s gambling laws, AP reports.
U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell said in a ruling Tuesday that he wants to hear further evidence by May 22 in the years-old effort to block the casino.
Arizona and the Gila River Indian Community filed the suit in 2011 to stop the casino. Critics say it would violate the state’s gambling compact with 17 Indian tribes. But Campbell says state law does not prohibit new casinos.
The tribe unveiled its plans in 2009 for a Las Vegas-style casino 160 miles from its existing reservation. The federal government declared the land a reservation in 2010.
At least eight Arizona tribes oppose the casino.
(Note: Rose Law Group represents leadership in the Arizona House and Senate in the casino case.)