PETALUMA, CA-The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo is adding a small hotel to its plan for land south of Petaluma, but the tribe's leader says there are no plans for a casino.
Band Chairman Harvey Hopkins told the Press Democrat the hotel would accommodate spectators and players for the half-dozen sports fields that are planned along with the tribal housing, restaurant, gas station, medical clinic and fire station.
In an interview with the paper, Hopkins said the tribe's existing River Rock Casino near Geyserville continues to be the priority.
But Dry Creek's proposal to place into federal trust the 277 acres it owns off Kastania Road has made Petaluma and Sonoma County officials uneasy that the tribe might one day build a casino there as a way to leapfrog closer to the lucrative Bay Area market.
Graton Rancheria Chairman Greg Sarris is skeptical of Dry Creek's motives, the paper reports, and has previously accused the Pomo band of being “totally out of their territory.”
The hotel that was recently added to an existing development plan would include 60 rooms.
Click Press Democrat to read the full story.
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David Phillips
David Phillips is a Chicago-based freelance writer and consultant with more than 20 years experience in business and community news. He also has extensive reporting experience in the food manufacturing industry for national trade publications.
