Column: The battle is on for Bay Area casino

"A little-known California Indian tribe presented its flag to U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton in September for display in the Hall of Tribal Nations, which flies banners of some of the more than 500 tribes that the federal government recognizes.

Less than a month later, the Lower Lake Rancheria-Koi Nation jumped into the Bay Area casino fracas with a plan to build a casino with 2,000 slot machines, a resort and spa next door to the Oakland International Airport.

The 53-member tribe, headquartered in Santa Rosa, joins the Lytton, Guidiville and Scotts Valley Pomo tribes in seeking chunks of urban real estate to establish Las Vegas-style casinos along the East Bay shoreline from Richmond to Oakland."

Get the Story:
The battle for casinos in East Bay (The San Francisco Chronicle 12/13)