Nearly a decade ago, members of a Northern California Native American tribe, the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, made a big bet when they bought 160 untouched acres north of San Francisco to erect a $700 million casino resort it had no approval to build.
Today it is one of three tribal casino projects mired in controversy and awaiting a go-ahead from the Interior Department. The projects, which the tribes say are allowed under an exception in federal law, have set off a fierce debate about tribal sovereignty and have turned tribes opposed to the projects against an administration that has championed Native American interests.
