While there have been no firm commitments to build a casino in
Los Banos, the California Valley Miwok tribe has promised to give
local people and companies preference for jobs and service
contracts if one is built.
Hollister – While there have been no firm commitments to build a casino in Los Banos, the California Valley Miwok tribe has promised to give local people and companies preference for jobs and service contracts if one is built.
“They’ve been receptive,” said casino project spokesperson Tom Saggau.
Facing opposition from San Benito County supervisors and many community members, tribal representatives announced in May that they would no longer pursue building a casino and hotel in the county on about 200 acres near the Hollister Municipal Airport. At that time, they said they had opened talks with officials in Los Banos in Merced County about the possibility of building the casino near that city.
Last month the tribe made a “pledge of cooperation” to Los Banos officials, saying it was willing to work with the city to determine if the casino, “Fits well within the local community.” The ten-point pledge included the tribe’s willingness to pay for infrastructure improvements and work with local vendors to obtain products and services.
Saggau declined to comment on whether the casino project is also looking for a home in other communities in the region.
Los Banos officials did not return phone calls Monday, but in May Los Banos Mayor Michael Amabile told the Free Lance he was interested in the jobs that a casino might bring to his town.
“We’re in a little bit different situation over here. We have a very high unemployment rate, jobs are very important over here. Not that they aren’t important everywhere, but personally I do think Los Banos might be a little more receptive,” he said.
According to Saggau, talks between casino project representatives and Los Banos officials are still preliminary. But, he added, Los Banos seems serious about seeing if the casino and hotel would be a beneficial addition to their community.
“The biggest difference between Los Banos and the County of Merced verses San Benito County is there’s a seriousness in Los Banos and Merced in terms of job creation potential and economic development potential,” he said.
While he said it is still too early to know the effect the casino might have on Los Banos’ economy, Saggau said that it would surely give Los Banos an economic boost. The casino would create at least 2,000 jobs, he said.
“These are good paying jobs with solid benefits,” he said.
Building a casino near Hollister had become a particularly divisive issue among San Benito County residents and officials, sparking several heated community meetings, the formation of anti-casino organization Casinos Represent A Poor Solution (CRAPS) and strong opposition from Sheriff Curtis Hill.
The casino would have sat on more than 200 acres off Highway 156 near the Hollister Municipal Airport. Investors hoped to eventually add a hotel, restaurants and several entertainment venues to the casino, which could have been similar in size to Yolo County’s 66,000 square-foot, 2,000 slot machine Cache Creek casino.
In February, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to send a resolution opposing the casino to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The San Juan Bautista City Council and Hollister Downtown Association quickly followed the board’s decision and passed similar resolutions.
Concerns that a casino was the wrong kind of development for Hollister, and the belief the tribe was “reservation shopping” out of their indigenous area were some of the chief reasons for opposition cited in the resolutions.
