Scotts Valley wants to build a 400,000-square-foot casino in Vallejo. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is saying it may not be able to ante up once litigation is complete.

On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Scotts Valley’s challenges against the Department of the Interior’s reconsideration of the project. The ruling enables the department to move forward with the reconsideration and review all the evidence surrounding the project and issue a final determination on whether the land in question is eligible for gaming.

The court acknowledged that the final determination may eventually include permanent revocation of Scotts Valley’s gaming eligibility determination.

However, Scotts Valley also considered the court’s ruling “a victory” because it restores gaming eligibility to the Tribe’s trust land in Vallejo, although that eligibility could be temporary according to the judge.

The court criticized the DOI for failing to notify Scotts Valley before temporarily rescinding the project’s gaming eligibility determination. But the court also made clear that this error does not limit the agency’s authority to proceed with reconsideration or permanent revocation of the approvals.

“The Court’s remedy does not bar Interior from continuing its reconsideration, nor does it stop the Department from revoking the Band’s gaming eligibility at the end of that process,” District Judge Trevor McFadden explained, For that reason, Scotts Valley would be ill-served by placing undue reliance on today’s decision.”

However, Shawn Davis, Chairman of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, was happy with the court on Thursday.

“Secretary Burgum took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and to our knowledge, he is the only sitting secretary of the Department of the Interior in recent history to be found in violation of the U.S. Constitution,” said Davis. “On behalf of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, I would like to thank the court for recognizing Secretary Burgum’s violation of our constitutional right to due process. Despite our multiple attempts to engage with the department on this matter through proper tribal consultations, Secretary Burgum failed to engage with us. The Band is hopeful that the clarity provided by the Court will foster a more collaborative relationship with the Department moving forward.”

The project in question is the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ proposed 160-acre casino that would include the construction of 24 single-family residences, a tribal administration building, parking garage and a 45-acre biological preserve area located within and adjacent to the city boundary in Solano County, near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Highway 37. The casino facility, at a cost of $700 million, would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has ongoing litigation with the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, arguing that Scotts Valley, hailing from from Lake County, would take the ancestral lands of local Patwin tribes and threaten critical environmental and cultural resources at the project site.

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation was also happy with the court’s ruling, however its happiness stemmed from a possible long-term goal.

“Today’s court decision correctly reaffirms the Department of the Interior’s decision to reevaluate this proposed casino, which would destroy irreparable cultural and ecological resources and has already been rejected three other times by the Department,” said Yocha Dehe Chairman Anthony Roberts. “As the department stated in its letter announcing its decision to reconsider the project, this process will assess all facts and evidence – revealing what history already makes clear: Scotts Valley has no historical connection to this land.

“For years we have worked with our federal, state, and local partners to shed light on the flaws in this process,” Roberts continued. “We are grateful the department can continue doing the right thing by evaluating all evidence. We are confident this reconsideration process will reveal the truth Scotts Valley has attempted to hide from the very start – their ancestral lands are not in Vallejo, and they never were.”

Scotts Valley’s project was green lit by an official in January on his last day at the United States Department of the Interior, in violation of a host of federal laws, policies, and procedures. Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation believes the January decision came despite broad, bipartisan opposition from local Patwin tribes, other Northern California tribal leaders, Vallejo residents, local governments, Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of Congress.

The briefing also explained that in March, the Department of the Interior, perhaps recognizing the problems with the January decision, took the unusual step of initiating a formal reconsideration process.

Roberts said in his eyes the biggest of the problems with the decision is the claim that one of Scotts Valley’s ancestors — Chief Shuk Augustine, who was leader of the Pomos until he died in 1903 — previously lived in Vallejo and used the land. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation says this claim is false and that Augustine never lived in Vallejo.

“Let me clear. Augustine never lived in Vallejo and never used or occupied lands here,” Roberts said in September. “He had no ties to this land and the surrounding counties. Scotts Valley’s claims about Augustine are simply false. Factually incorrect. As descendents of those that truly did occupy these lands, it’s an insulting and hurtful to hear these claims. Even worse is the fact that we gave the Department of Interior the true facts well in advance of its January decision. But the decision says on its face that our evidence was not considered. The agency just ignored it.”

Scotts Valley has said in the past that the filings by Yocha Dehe are just ways to delay the inevitable.

“We will not allow bureaucrats trample our sovereignty or destroy the opportunities we have fought decades to secure,” said Chairman Shawn Davis in April. “This is like trying to replay a football game after the final whistle has blown and the score has been posted. We won. The process is over. We shouldn’t have to replay the game because others don’t like the outcome.”

On Thursday afternoon, Patrick Bergin with Scotts Valley said that “Yocha Dehe can try to spin this decision, but the court ruling will speak for itself. We see this as a victory because it restores our gaming eligibility which should have never been taken away on on our trust land.”

Bergin went on to say that Scotts Valley will now engage in conversation with the Department of Interior as soon as possible, however those conversations may be delayed due to the current government shutdown.

The Tribe had challenged the U.S. Department of the Interior’s attempt to rescind and reconsider its prior determination that the Vallejo property qualified as “restored lands” under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

“This victory is about more than gaming — it’s about fairness, tribal sovereignty, and the fundamental right of our people to move forward in building a brighter future,” Davis said. “Today’s decision opens the door to new opportunities and prosperity for our tribal members and for our neighbors in Vallejo and Solano County.”

Reactions to the casino have been mixed. Vallejo resident Jimmy Genn recalls the negative impact that the construction of a tribal casino had on his community growing up.

“The tribe says crime will not spill out in the surrounding areas. My hometown’s experience is that it does,” he said in August. “We will have no jurisdiction. The acreage becomes a sovereign nation. Casinos are more trouble in the surrounding areas than they are worth.”

Some residents, on the other hand, are drawn to the economic boost that can come from a project of such magnitude. Rising property value, tourism revenue, and an influx of foot traffic for local businesses are just a few of the benefits discussed among residents leaning to the “pro” casino side.

“The city could lean into it,” said former business owner Kimberly Pelham in August. “Imagine people coming across from the ferry, bringing their money, gambling for the night, and spending earnings at the restaurants there at the retail, Costco, and downtown businesses.”