{"id":95151,"date":"2018-12-20T09:46:35","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T17:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=95151"},"modified":"2018-12-20T09:46:35","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T17:46:35","slug":"pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/","title":{"rendered":"Pamunkey Tribe Finds Site for First Virginia Casino but Must Now Win Over DOI"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pamunkey tribe<\/a> believes has found the location where it hopes to build Virginia\u2019s first ever casino.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Pamunkey\"
Pamunkey chief Robert Gray believes the tribe can claim ancestral roots in Norfolk, Virginia, which may be crucial to its bid to build a casino there. Others aren\u2019t so sure, however. (Image: Steve Earley\/The Virginian-Pilot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tribe — which claims a famous ancestor in Pocahontas — says it\u2019s in negotiations to buy land in the City of Norfolk, on the banks of the Elizabeth River. It plans to build a $700 million casino resort, complete with performance venue, spa, and 1,200-room hotel tower.<\/p>\n

The tribe has financial backing from billionaire investor Jon Yarbrough, the founder of slots manufacturer Video Gaming Technologies, which was sold to Aristocrat Leisure for $1.28 billion in 2014.<\/p>\n

Unlike its previously proposed location in New Kent County — where there was local opposition — Norfolk has welcomed the interest.<\/p>\n

“After looking at other cities, they chose Norfolk,” said Mayor Kenny Alexander in a statement Wednesday. “The tribe’s decision validates Norfolk as an emerging destination for tourism in the mid-Atlantic, and the center for entertainment in Hampton Roads.”<\/p>\n

Carcieri Impediment <\/strong><\/h2>\n

But hurdles remain. The Pamunkey became Virginia\u2019s first recognized tribe in 2016, while six more tribes were similarly recognized last year. Since the land in question is outside the tribe\u2019s official reservation, once it is acquired the Pamunkey must apply to the Department of the Interior (DOI) to have it placed into trust<\/p>\n

\n

But a 2009 US Supreme Court ruling known as the Carcieri Decision stated that to qualify for the land-into-trust process a tribe is required to have been \u201cunder federal jurisdiction” in 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The DOI\u2019s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is able to make an exception to the rule if a tribe is able to prove \u201cancestral\u201d ties to the land. The BIA will look at a tribe’s history in order to determine if it meets the criteria. But as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts recently discovered<\/a> to its cost, it can be tough to qualify.<\/p>\n

Ancestral Ties? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pamunkey chief Robert Gray\u00a0told The Virginian Pilot <\/em>that he believes the tribe\u2019s ancestors lived, farmed, fished, and hunted in the area, but Helen Rountree, a professor emeritus of anthropology at Old Dominion University, wasn\u2019t so sure.<\/p>\n

“The present day Pamunkeys will have real difficulty proving that their territory extended all the way to Norfolk,” she said Wednesday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The tribe would also face opposition from MGM whose lobbyists would likely seek to block the casino venture because it would be a competitor to the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. MGM has been accused of meddling in two Connecticut tribes\u2019 application to the DOI to build a casino close to its MGM Springfield property.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pamunkey tribe believes has found the location where it hopes to build Virginia\u2019s first ever casino. The tribe — which claims a famous ancestor in Pocahontas — says it\u2019s in negotiations to buy land in the City of Norfolk, on the banks of the Elizabeth River. It plans to build a $700 million casino […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":95155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPamunkey Tribe Finds Site for First Virginia Casino But Must win Over DOI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Pamunkey tribe is proposing to build its $700 million casino \u2013 Virginia\u2019s first -- in Norfolk, but will it be able to win over the DOI?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pamunkey Tribe Finds Site for First Virginia Casino But Must win Over DOI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pamunkey tribe is proposing to build its $700 million casino \u2013 Virginia\u2019s first -- in Norfolk, but will it be able to win over the DOI?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-20T17:46:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/robert.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/\",\"name\":\"Pamunkey Tribe Finds Site for First Virginia Casino But Must win Over DOI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/robert.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-20T17:46:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-20T17:46:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"The Pamunkey tribe is proposing to build its $700 million casino \u2013 Virginia\u2019s first -- in Norfolk, but will it be able to win over the DOI?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/pamunkey-tribe-finds-site-for-first-virginia-casino-but-must-win-over-doi\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/robert.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/robert.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Pamunkey chief Robert Gray believes the tribe can claim ancestral roots in Norfolk, Virginia, which may be crucial to their bid to build a casino there. 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