Pomo Indians’ Solano County casino faces legal ambiguity

The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians declared that a "preview casino" will soon be opened on their Vallejo trust land.

It occurs at a time when the tribe's intentions to construct a big casino and resort project worth $700 million have encountered a significant federal obstacle, placing the project in legal limbo.

The official approval from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) is still pending for Scotts Valley. Following an initial approval in January 2025, the federal agency is still reevaluating the tribe's eligibility for gambling on the property.

In March 2025, the federal government retracted the approval after admitting it might have been a "legal error." After many other local tribes opposed to the project filed lawsuits against the DOI, the agency started a review process.

The land is ancestral Patwin territory, according to Anthony Roberts, tribal chairman of the Yoche Dehe Wintun Nation.

Yoche Dehe, Lytton Rancheria of California, United Auburn Indian Community and the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation have publicly opposed Scotts Valley's casino project and have announced their opposition to the preview.

"Our concern here is specific and process-based," said Chairman Charlie Wright of the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation. "Where the Department of the Interior is actively reconsidering gaming eligibility, and the court has cautioned against reliance on interim decisions, moving forward with gaming activity at this site before that review is complete risks undermining trust in the process and creating avoidable conflict among tribes and local communities."

Roberts rejects the claim that Scotts Valley is a "landless" tribe and says it took advantage of an exception in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act meant to allow landless tribes to recover portions of their former reservations. He argues the Scotts Valley Band has no legitimate ancestral connection to the land in Vallejo.

"Their tribal government headquarters is in Lake County, 100 miles from where they're trying to develop a parcel of land that is being stolen. There are no other words for it," said Roberts. "Our fight from day one has never been to hold the tribe down. It's been to protect the resources that we've protected in our ancestral lands for generations."

Scotts Valley's bid to halt the DOI review process was denied by a federal court from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in late 2025. The judge's decision included a caution that the tribe would be at their own peril if they developed on the property before receiving final government approval.

In nearby Yolo County, Yoche Dehe is the owner of Cache Creek Casino Resort.

Shawn Davis, the chairman of Scotts Valley, stated in a statement that they will not be intimidated by fearmongering masquerading as concern. Their objection, according to Roberts, comes down to something very different. This is never about us being greedy. "It's about another tribe trying to establish themselves in another tribe's ancestral homeland and breaking centuries-old cultural traditions," Roberts said.

According to him, Yoche Dehe has been fighting an emotional battle because the land's valuable resources are the remains of its indigenous people. However, any assertions that there are human remains on the site are untrue and unsupported by science, according to a lawyer representing the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians. The federal government produced a report based on thorough, expert examinations that revealed no human remains anywhere on the Vallejo property when deciding to purchase it for Scotts Valley.

This summer, the DOI is anticipated to make a final decision about Scotts Valley's gaming eligibility.

Source:

“Scotts Valley tribe's $700M Solano County casino in legal limbo, preview site set to open soon” , Ashley Sharp, cbsnews.com, February 12, 2026.