Fierce tribal conflicts made a Californian judge take the draconian measure of closing a casino. The disagreements, that happened last Thursday, made a great number of players leave the venue and abandon their chips on the tables.
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, located in Coarsegold, was closed by Lawrence O’Neill who was asked to take urgent measures. There will be a court hearing on Wednesday but the authorities haven’t set a date for the reopening of the casino yet.
The National Indian Gaming Commission also requested the closure of the casino and the members expressed their concerns that if it remains open, it can pose a risk to the public safety and if another conflict occurs, the result might be lethal.
That’s not the first time when such unpleasant accidents occur in the region though. A few months ago, the same thing happened but unfortunately it had affected not only the casino but also the tribal business in the area in general.
Those who witnessed the conflict from last week claim that each of the factions, included in the disagreement, took over a different part of the casino and the conflict wasn’t solved until the next day.
John Anderson, the sheriff of Madera County, said that he knew about the problematic issues, concerning the tribal casino, and he was really anxious about the outcome of the tense situation. He said that he feared the moment when things would get out of control so he informed the federal authorities and requested their assistance for dealing with the problem.
Anyway, the authorities discussed the accident with 20 members once the things with the casino got back to normal. Luckily nobody was wounded or hospitalised.
Anderson also added that when the war is moved on the casino premises, the local authorities have to take urgent measures because if left unattended, at one point, the tension escalates.
The casino and the surrounding areas were kept under surveillance last Friday.
The standpoint of the gaming commission is that the casino should be permanently closed if the owners fail to provide the necessary paperwork by the end of October. There is also an overdue audit that must have been conducted in 2012.
Vernon King who was also involved in the accident from the last week, said that his group want to avoid the closure of the casino and one of the most convincing arguments he gave was the job opportunities as well as the stable income the casino ensures.
The attorney of the group that gained the control over the casino four months ago, says that the members of the other faction are unwilling to negotiate over the matters.
Tom Wheeler, a supervisor of Madera County, admitted that the closure of the venue will have a really negative impact on the local economy but yet, the authorities should be more worried about the safety of the residents in an event of another violence outburst so he encouraged those who have the power to close the casino, to do that right away.
